.< 

9 


ANNUAL  REPORT 


OF  THE 


BOARD  OF  REGENTS 


OF   THE 


SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 


SHOWING 


THE  OPERATIONS,  EXPENDITURES,  AND  CONDITION  OF 
THE  INSTITUTION 


FOR  THE 


YEAR  ENDING  JUNE  30,  1902. 


wa  4  v<&i>,?y  T;$&ti?.'-A  c-* 

KEPOBT 

OF  THE 

U.  S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM. 


WASHINGTON: 

"3^*"" 

GOVERNMENT    PRINTING    OFFICE. 

1904:. 


AX    ACT    PROVIDING    FOR   THE    PUBLIC    PRINTING    AND    BINDING,    AND     TIIE    DISTRIBUTION 

OF   PUBLIC   DOCUMENTS. 

Approved  January  12,  1895. 

"Of  the  Report  of  the  Sirii;thg6man  Itystitfi#on,ften  thousand  copies;  one  thousand 
copies  for  the  Senate,  two  tlwuHtt'nd  for  the  '<  H' oil se,.  'five  thousand  for  distribution  by 
the  Smithsonian  Institution,;  an J-  tyq  -thousaad.  far  distribution  by  the  National 
'Museum." 


I 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PLATES. 

ABORIGINAL  AMERICAN  BASKETRY:  STUDIES  IN  A  TEXTILE  ART  WITHOUT  MACHINERY 

By  OTIS  TUFTON  MASON. 

Facing  page. 

1.  Modified  forms  on  basketry 548 

2.  Pima  basketry  showing  fretwork 548 

3.  Porno  fine  coiled  basket 548 

4.  Hazelnut  (Corylus  califomica) 548 

5.  Wolf  moss  ( Evernia  vulpina) 548 

6.  Klamath  gambling  tray 548 

7.  Sitka  spruce  (Picea  sitchensis) 558 

8:  Threeleaf  sumac  (Rhus  trilobate) 548 

9.  Tule  (Scirpus  lacustris) 548 

10.  Giant  cedar  ( Thuja  plicate) 548 

11.  Klikitat  imbricated  basket 548 

12.  Porno  basketmaker 548 

13.  Tlinkit  basketmaker 548 

14.  Checkerwork  in  cedar  bark 548 

15.  Cigar  case  in  twilled  weaving 548 

16.  Hopi  twilled  basketry 548 

17.  Mohave  carrying  basket 548 

18.  Attu  woman  weaving  baskets 548 

19.  Porno  twined  baskets 548 

20.  Porno  diagonal  twined  baskets 548 

21 .  Ute  twined  jars 548 

22.  Porno  twined  baskets 548 

23.  Furcated  stitches  on  coiled  basketry 548 

24.  Openwork  coiled  basket 548 

25.  Porno  coiled  treasure  baskets 548 

26.  Alaskan  Eskimo  coiled  basket . 548 

27.  Hopi  coiled  basketry '. 548 

28.  Zufii  old  coiled  baskets 548 

29.  Porno  three-rod  coiled  basket 548 

30.  Hopi  coiled  plaques 548 

31.  Ancient  openwork  coiled  basket 548 

32.  Ancient  basket  bottles 548 

33.  Apache  ancient  water  jar 548 

34.  Porno  three-strand  border 548 

35.  Salish  imbricated  baskets 548 

36.  Mission  Indian  coiled  bowl 548 

37.  Tlinkit  twined  baskets 548 

38.  Tulare  gambling  plaques 548 

M31359 


XIV  LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Facing  page. 

39.  Navaho  sacred  baskets 548 

40.  Kern  and  Tulare  hats  and  mush  bowls 548 

41.  Kern  and  Tulare  bottle-neck  baskets 548 

42.  A  pache  coiled  ollas 548 

43.  Salish  and  Klikitat  imbricated  baskets 548 

44.  Tlinkit  false  embroidery 548 

45.  Old  imbricated  baskets 548 

46.  Washoe  fine  coiled  baskets 548 

47.  Hopi  wickerwork  plaque 548 

48.  Klamath  old  twined  bowls 548 

49.  Ancient  basket  jars 548 

50.  Pima  basket  bowls 548 

51.  Skokomish  twined  wallet 548 

52.  Apache  coiled  basket 548 

53.  Kern,  Inyo,  and  Tulare  bo  win 548 

54.  Tulare  coiled  bowls 548 

55.  Salish  imbricated  baskets 548 

56.  Maidu  coiled  baskets 548 

57.  Maidu  coiled  baskets 548 

58.  Pima  coiled  bowl 548 

59.  Pima  coiled  bowls 548 

60.  Ancient  Pima  coiled  bowls 548 

61.  Pima  coiled  basket 548 

62.  Mission  Indian  coiled  bowls 548 

63.  Pima  basket  bowls 548 

64.  Chetimacha  twilled  basket : .  548 

65.  Tlinkit  modern  twined  baskets 548 

66.  Oregon  and  California  twined  basketry 548 

67.  Tlinkit  twined  covered  jar 548 

68.  Salish  imbricated  ware 548 

69.  Porno  coiled  feathered  basket 548 

70.  Porno  coiled  feathered  basket 548 

71.  Tlinkit  twined  wallets 548 

72.  Ancient  Tlinkit  twined  wallets 548 

73.  Tlinkit  covered  twined  baskets 548 

74.  Symbolism  on  Salish  basketry 548 

75.  Symbolism  on  Salish  basketry 548 

76.  Symbolism  on  Salish  basketry 548 

77.  Symbolism  on  Salish  basketry 548 

78.  Symbolism  on  Salish  basketry 548 

79.  Symbolism  on  Salish  basketry 548 

80.  Yuki  sun  basket 548 

81.  Porno  gift  basket 548 

82.  Symbolism  on  Washoe  baskets ". 548 

83.  Tulare  bottle-neck  baskets 548 

84.  Ancient  Cliff-Dwellers'  baskets 548 

85.  Hopi  wicker  plaque 548 

86.  Hupa  burden  bearer 548 

87.  Sandals  of  ancient  Cliff-Dwellers 548 

88.  Hupa  twined  sandal 548 

89.  Tulare  coiled  cup  and  jar 548 

90.  Hupa  and  Porno  feathered  baskets * 548 

91.  Klikitat  imbricated  baskets 548 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS.  XV 

Facing  page. 

92.  Hupa  food  baskets 548 

93.  Hopi  sacred  coiled  trays 548 

94.  Oraibi  woman  drying  corn 548 

95.  Amazonian  basketry  and  materials 548 

96.  Hupa  harvesting  baskets 548 

97.  Porno  milling  baskets 548 

98.  Tulare  meal  and  mortar  baskets 548 

99.  Yokut  woman  sifting  meal 548 

100.  Havasupai  woman  screening  corn 548 

101.  Coahuilla  woman  grinding  acorns 548 

102.  Mohave  storage  basket 548 

103.  Hopi  bridal  costume  case 548 

104.  Ancient  mortuary  baskets 548 

105.  Ancient  Peruvian  lace  work 548 

106.  Relationship  between  basketry  and  pottery 548 

107.  Basketry  preserved  by  pottery 548 

108.  Tlinkit  twined  baskets 548 

109.  Tlinkit  twined  covered  basket 548 

110.  Hopi  sacred  dance  baskets 548 

111.  Hupa  woodpecker  dance 548 

112.  Porno  wedding  baskets 548 

113.  Porno  jewel  baskets 548 

114.  Porno  jewel  baskets 548 

115.  Tulare  gambling  tray  and  dice 548 

116.  Tulare  gambling  tray  and  dice 548 

117.  Paiute  basket  bottles 548 

118.  Navaho  water  carriers 548 

119.  Algonkin  Indian  basketry 548 

120.  Abenaki  Indian  basketmaker 548 

121.  Chippewa  Indian  basketmakers 548 

122.  Chippewa  bark  matting 548 

123.  Athapascan  snowshoe  detail 548 

124.  Ojibwa  coiled  baskets 548 

125.  Central  Eskimo  coiled  basket 548 

126.  Central  Eskimo  coiled  basket 548 

127.  Comanche  coiled  tray 548 

128.  Coiled  basket  of  pine  needles 548 

129.  Dog  Rib  Indian  game  bag 548 

1 30.  Potsherds  showing  textile  impressions 548 

131.  Ojibwa  twined  wallet 548 

132.  Chetimacha  twilled  basketry 548 

133.  Chetimacha  twilled  basketry 548 

134.  Choctaw  twilled  baskets 548 

135.  Attakapa  twilled  baskets 548 

136.  Alaskan  Eskimo  basketry 548 

137.  Alaskan  Eskimo  twined  wallet 548 

138.  Chukchi  twined  wallet 548 

139.  Kamtchatkan  twined  wallet 548 

140.  Chukchi  coiled  baskets 548 

141.  Alaskan  Eskimo  coiled  basket 548 

142.  Aleut  twined  basket 548 

143.  Aleut  twined  basket 548 

144.  Attu  basketmaker 548 


XVI  LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Facing  page. 

145.  Aleut  manual  training 548 

146.  Tlinkit  twined  wallets 548 

147.  Tlinkit  basketmakers 548 

148.  Chilkat  ceremonial  blanket 548 

149.  Haida  twined  wallets 548 

150.  Haida  basketmakers 548 

151 .  Xutka  Indian  hats 548 

152.  Salish  twilled  basket 548 

153.  Makah  Indian  basketmakers 548 

154.  Types  of  Salish  basketry 548 

155.  Types  of  Salish  basketry 548 

156.  Salish  imbricated  baskets 548 

157.  Salish  imbricated  baskets 548 

158.  Cowlitz  and  Klikitat  imbricated  baskets 548 

159.  Klikitat  imbricated  basketry  (old  forms) 548 

160.  Klikitat  imbricated  basketry  (modern  forme) 548 

161.  Klikitat  imbricated  basket 548 

1 62.  Quinaielt  twined  wallets 548 

163.  Salish  basketry 548 

164.  Skokomish  twined  wallets 548 

165.  Clallam  twined  baskets 548 

166.  Tillamuk  and  Chinook  twined  wallets 548 

167.  Modoc  and  Nez  Perce  women's  hats 548 

168.  Wasco  twined  wallets 548 

169.  Wasco  twined  wallets 548 

170.  Hupa  twined  baskets ' 548 

171.  Hupa  basketmaker 548 

172.  Klamath  and  Wintun  basketmakers 548 

173.  Porno  basket  in  Tee  weave 548 

174.  Klamath  three-strand  baskets 548 

1 75.  Pit  River  twined  baskets 548 

176.  Shasta  twined  baskets 548 

177.  Hat  Creek  Indian  basketry 548 

178.  Hat  Creek  Indian  basketry 548 

1 79.  Washoe  basket  bowls 548 

180.  Washoe  coiled  basket 548 

181.  Washoe  basketmaker 548 

182.  Eastern  Californian  coiled  baskets 548 

183.  Panamint  Indian  coiled  bowls 548 

184.  Panamint  coiled  bowls 548 

185.  Tulare  coiled  baskets ._ 548 

186.  Tulare  coiled  basket . 548 

187.  Tulare  coiled  jars 548 

188.  Kern  and  Tulare  coiled  baskets 548 

189.  Tulare  coiled  baskets 548 

190.  Tejon  coiled  baskets 548 

191.  Kern  and  Tulare  coiled  baskets 548 

192.  Caliente  Creek  Indian  baskets 548 

193.  Kern  coiled  basket 548 

194.  Kern  coiled  basket 548 

195.  Kern  coiled  basket 548 

196.  Kern  coiled  baskets 548 

197.  Mission  Indian  basketmaker '. 548 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS.  XVII 

Facing  page. 

198.  Saboba  Indian  basketmaker 548 

199.  Mission  Indian  basket  bowl - 548 

200.  Havasupai  basketmaker 548 

201.  Ancient  cave  baskets 548 

202.  Ancient  cave  baskets 548 

203.  Mission  Indian  twined  bag 548 

204.  Paiute  water  bottles -  -  -  548 

205.  Ancient  Basket  Makers'  coiled  trays 548 

206.  Ancient  Basket  Makers'  coiled  ware 548 

207.  Ancient  Basket  Makers'  coiled  tray 548 

208.  Ancient  Basket  Makers'  coiled  tray 548 

209.  Ancient  Basket  Makers'  coiled  bowls 548 

210.  Ancient  Basket  Makers'  food  receptacles 548 

211.  Ancient  Basket  Makers'  hopper 548 

212.  Sia  ancient  coiled  baskets 548 

213.  Ancient  Zuni  basketry 548 

214.  Ancient  Pueblo  coiled  basketry 548 

215.  Hopi  basketmaker 548 

216.  Hopi  coiled  plaques 548 

217.  Oraibi  basket  weaver 548 

218.  Ancient  baskets  from  Oraibi 548 

219.  Ancient  wicker  basket 548 

220.  Ancient  twilled  and  coiled  ware 548 

221.  Ancient  Pueblo  basketry 548 

222.  Ancient  Pueblo  basketry 548 

223.  Ancient  Pueblo  basketry 548 

224.  Apache  coiled  bowls 548 

225.  Apache  coiled  bowls 548 

226.  Apache  coiled  bowls 548 

227.  Mescalero  coiled  baskets 548 

228.  Navaho  coiled  bowls 548 

229.  Havasupai  coiled  basketry 548 

230.  Havasupai  coiled  bowls 548 

231.  Havasupai  basketmaker 548 

232.  Chemehuevi  coiled  baskets 548 

233.  Pima  coiled  bowl 548 

234.  Pima  coiled  baskets 548 

235.  Pima  basketmaker 548 

236.  Yaqui  plume  basket 548 

237.  Yaqui  covered  baskets 548 

238.  Venezuelan  basketmaker 548 

239.  Arawak  Indian  basketry 548 

240.  Brazilian  carrying  baskets 548 

241.  Brazilian  carrying  baskets 548 

242.  Ecuador  twilled  weaving 548 

243.  Ancient  Peruvian  workbasket 548 

244.  Peruvian  ancient  twined  carrying  frame 548 

245.  Ancient  Chilean  coiled  basketry 548 

246.  Ancient  Chilean  coiled  basketry 548 

247.  Ancient  Chilean  coiled  basketry 548 

248.  Peruvian  modern  coiled  basketry 548 

NAT   MUS    1902 II 


XVIII  LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

THE  HERPETOLOGY  OP  PORTO  Rico. 

By  LEONHARD  STEJNEGER. 

Facing  page. 

1.   Anohs  krugi 549 

WOKAS,  A  PRIMITIVE  FOOD  OF  THE  KLAMATJI  INDIANS. 
By  FREDERICK  YERXOX  COVILLE. 

1 .  Nymphaea  polysepala 725 

2.  Nympha?a  polysepala 740 

3.  A  wokas  gatherer's  camp _<. 740 

4.  The  wokas  gatherer's  boat  and  pole 749 

5.  Ten  thousand  acres  of  wokas 740 

6.  One  day's  wokas  harvest  of  two  women 740 

7.  AY  okas  on  a  mealing  stone 740 

8.  Wokas  drying  pile  and  implements 740 

9.  An  opened  drying  pile  of  wokas 740 

10.  Wokas  pods  ready  for  firing 740 

]  1 .  Extracting  wokas  seeds 740 

1 2.  Seeds  of  wokas 740 

13.  The  end  of  a  wokas  camp 740 

TEXT  FIGURES. 

ABORIGINAL  AMERICAN  BASKETRY— STUDIES  IN  A  TEXTILE  ART  WITHOUT  MACHINERY, 

BY  OTIS  TUFTON  MASON. 

Page. 

1.  Mud  shoes,  Klamath  Indians,  California 215 

2.  Coarse  checkerwork 223 

3.  Fine  checkerwork 223 

4.  Open  checkerwork 224 

5.  Twilled  work 224 

6.  Twilled  work \  224 

7.  Ancient  twilled  work,  Alabama 225 

8.  Ancient  twillled  work,  Tennessee 225 

9.  Twilled  weaving,  Cherokee  Indians,  North  Carolina 226 

10.  Wicker  basket,  Zufii,  New  Mexico 227 

1 1 .  Close  wickerwork,  Hopi  Indians,  Arizona 228 

12.  Twilled  and  wicker  mat,  Hopi  Indians,  Arizona 229 

13.  Wrapped  weaving,  Mohave  Indians,  Arizona 230 

14.  Wrapped  weaving,  from  mound  in  Ohio 231 

15.  Plain  twined  weaving 232 

16.  Openwork  twined  wallet,  Aleutian  Islands 233 

1 7.  Twined  openwork,  Aleutian  Islands 234 

18.  Crossed  warp,  twined  weave,  Makah  Indians,  Washington 234 

19.  Diagonal  twined  weaving,  Ute  Indians,  Utah 234 

20.  Diagonal  twined  basketry,  Porno  Indians,  California 235 

21 .  Wrapped  twined  weaving 235 

22.  Wrapped  twined  weaving,  Makah  Indians,  Washington 236 

23.  Detail  of  mixed  twined  weaving  (outside) 237 

24.  Detail  of  mixed  twined  weaving  (inside) 237 

25.  Variety  in  twined  weaving  (outside) 238 

26.  Variety  in  twined  weaving  (inside) 238 

27.  Tee  or  lattice-twined  weaving,  Porno   Indians,-  Calif*  >rnia 239 

28.  Three-strand  braid  and  twined  work  (outside) 239 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS.  XIX 

Page. 

29.  Three-strand  braid  and  twined  work  (inside) 239 

30.  Basket-jar  in  3-strand  twine,  Hopi  Indians,  Arizona 240 

31 .  Three-strand  and  plain  twined  weaving 241 

32.  Three-strand  braid,  (a)  outside,  (b)  inside 241 

33.  Carrying  basket,  3-strand  braid,  Klamath  Indians,  Oregon 242 

34.  Warp  stems  crossed  in  pairs 243 

35.  Warp  stems  crossed  in  fours 243 

36.  Sixteen  stems  woven  in  fours 243 

37.  Warp  stems  crossed  in  fours  and  twined 243 

38.  Six  warp  stems  parallel 244 

39.  Warp  stems  crossed  in  threes ;  held  by  wicker 244 

40.  Bone  awl  for  coiled  basketry 245 

41 .  Cross  sections  of  varieties  in  coiled  basketry 247 

42.  Carrying  basket,  Pima  Indians,  Arizona 248 

43.  Detail  of  interlocking  stitches 248 

44.  Foundation  of  three  rods  laid  vertically,  Mescalero  Apache  Indians 249 

45.  Detail  of  figure  44 250 

46.  Detail  of  single-rod  coil  in  basketry 250 

47.  Foundation  of  two  rods,  vertical 251 

48.  Rod  and  welt  foundation 252 

49.  Water  jar  in  coiled  basketry,  Wolpi,  Arizona 252 

50.  Foundation  of  three  rods,  stitches  catching  rod  underneath 253 

51.  Foundation  of  splints 254 

52.  Imbricated  work  detail,  called  Klikitat 254 

53.  Imbricated  coiled  work,  called  Klikitat 255 

54.  Imbricated  basketry  detail,  Thompson  River 255 

55.  Overlaying  in  coiled  work 256 

56.  Foundation  of  straws  in  coiled  work 256 

57.  Coil  with  open  sewing,  inclosing  parts  of  foundation 257 

58.  Foundation  of  grass  or  shredded  materials 257 

59.  Fuegian  coiled  basket,  and  details 258 

60.  Coiled  border  on  checker  weaving 260 

61.  Weft  and  warp  fastened  down  with  twine,  (a)  front,  (b)  back 261 

62.  Three-strand  wrarp  border  in  wickerwork 262 

63.  Border  made  by  weaving  warp  rods  in  pairs 262 

64.  Single-strand  coiled'border,  Moravian  Settlement,  North  Carolina 263 

65.  Braided  border  from  warp 263 

66.  Twined  wallet,  Quinaielt  Indians,  Washington 264 

67.  Single-strand  twined  border,  Porno  Indians 264 

68.  Three-strand  twined  border 265 

69.  Border  of  Hupa  twined  basket 265 

70.  Wrapped  warp  border,  Zuni,  New  Mexico 266 

71.  Border  of  Paiute  twined  basket 266 

72.  Three-strand  warp  border,  Porno  Indians 267 

73.  Two-strand  twine,  onlaid  for  border,  Tlinkit  Indians 268 

74.  Three-strand  braid  woven  in  for  border,  Tlinkit  Indians 269 

75.  Border  of  braid,  onlaid,  Tlinkit  Indians 269 

76.  Border  of  turned-down  warp  with  2-strand  twine,  Tlinkit  Indians 270 

77.  Border  of  4-strand  braid,  turned-down  warp,  Tlinkit  Indians 271 

78.  Border  of  4-strand  braid  onlaid,  warp  turned  down,  Tlinkit  Indians 271 

79.  Border  inclosing  hoop,  Tlinkit  Indians 272 

80.  Border  of  3-strand  braid,  Tlinkit  Indians 272 

81.  Mixed  twined  work,  Haida  Indians,  British  Columbia 273 


XX  LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Page. 

82.  Simple  coil  border,  Paiute  Indians,  Utah 274 

83.  Simple  wrapped  border 274 

84.  Three-strand  coiled  border,  Hopi,  Arizona 275 

85.  Detail  of  figure  84 275 

86.  Single-strand  plaited  border 276 

87.  Single-strand  plaited  border,  Havasupai  Indians,  Arizona 276 

88.  Plain  coiled  border  on  bark  vessel 277 

89.  Coil  and  knot  border  on  bark  vessel 277 

90.  Plain  coiled  border  on  bark  vessel 278 

91.  Coil  and  knot  border  on  bark  vessel 278 

92.  Checker  ornament  in  two  colors 288 

93.  Amazonian  basket  decorations  in  checker 288 

94.  Twilled  work  in  two  colors 289 

95.  Diaper  twilled  work  in  two  colors 289 

96.  Diagonal  twilled  ornament,  British  Guiana 290 

97.  Human  figures  in  twined  weaving,  ancient  Peru 291 

98.  Design  on  coiled  bowl,  Tulare  Indians 292 

99.  Detail  of  figure  98 293 

100.  Pima  carrying  frame,  southern  Arizona 294 

101.  AV  rapping  weft  fillets  with  darker  ones 307 

102.  Beading  on  twined  work,  Klamath  Indians 308 

103.  Beading  on  coiled  work,  Clallam  Indians,  Washington 309 

104.  Overlaid  twined  weaving 309 

105.  Breast  bands  for  hauling,  Zuili,  New  Mexico 339 

106.  Carrying  frame,  Papago  Indians,  Mexico 339 

107.  Twined  cradle,  Hupa  Indians 340 

108.  Stick  armor  twined  together,  California 341 

109.  Ceremonial  basket,  Hupa  Indians,  California 358 

110.  Ash  log  for  making  splints,  Menomini  Indians 375 

111.  Wooden  mallet  for  loosening  splints 376 

112.  Basket-maker's  knife  of  native  workmanship 376 

113.  Coil  of  basket  strips 377 

114.  Finished  wicker  basket 378 

115.  Coiled  basketry,  Hopewell  Mound,  Ohio 380 

116.  Coiled  basketry,  Hopewell  Mound,  Ohio 380 

117.  Wickerwork  from  cave  in  Kentucky 381 

118.  Charred  fabric  from  mound 382 

119.  Charred  fabric  from  mound 382 

120.  Twined  fish  trap,  Virginia  Indians 383 

121.  Twined  weave  from  ancient  pottery,  Tennessee 385 

122.  Twined  weave  from  ancient  pottery,  Tennessee 385 

123.  Detail  of  twilled  basketry  border,  Choctaw  Indians,  Louisiana 387 

124.  Border  of  twilled  basketry,  Choctaw  Indians,  Louisiana 387 

1 25.  Twilled  basket,  Arikara  Indians 389 

126.  Ancient  twilled  matting,  Petit  Anse  Island,  Louisiana 390 

127.  Coiled  workbasket,  Tinne  Indians,  Alaska 392 

128.  Coiled  workbasket,  Tinne"  Indians 393 

129.  Coiled  workbasket,  Tinne"  Indians 393 

130.  Coiled  workbasket,  Tinne  Indians 394 

131.  Detail  of  coiled  basket,  Tinne  Indians 394 

132.  Tobacco  basket,  Hupa  Indians,  California 395 

133.  Detail  of  Eskimo  twined  wallet 397 

134.  Coiled  basket,  Eskimo  Indians,  Alaska 398 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS.  XXI 

Page. 

135.  Bottom  of  figure  134 399 

136.  Detail  of  Eskimo  coiled  basket 400 

137.  Twined  basket  wallet,  Tlinkit  Indians,  Alaska 409 

138.  False  embroidery,  Tlinkit  Indians,  Alaska 410 

139.  Detail  of  false  embroidery 410 

140.  Carrying  wallet,  Tlinkit  Indians,  Alaska 411 

141.  Twined  and  wicker  weave,  Tlinkit  Indians,  Alaska 411 

142.  Wallet,  Chilkat  Indians,  southeastern  Alaska 412 

143.  Hat  in  fine  twined  weaving,  Haida  Indians,  British  Columbia 413 

144.  Detail  of  figure  143 413 

145.  Twined  openwork  basket,  Haida  Indians 414 

146.  Detail  of  figure  145 414 

147.  Unfinished  basket,  Haida  Indians 415 

148.  Virginia  Indian  woman  weaving  a  basket 416 

149.  Detail  of  wrapped  basket,  Clallam  Indians * 417 

150.  Wrapped  twined  basket,  Makah  Indians,  Cape  Flattery 418 

151.  Bottom  of  Makah  basket 418 

152.  Detail  of  Nutka  hat 419 

153.  Cross  section  of  Nutka  hat 419 

154.  Checkerwork  basket,  Bilhula  Indians,  British  Columbia 422 

155.  Coiled  and  imbricated  basket 426 

156.  Imbricated  basket,  Yakima  Indians,  Washington 431 

157.  Imbricated  basket,  Cowlitz  Indians 432 

158.  Twilled  basket  work,  Clallam  Indians,- Washington 433 

159.  Water-tight  basket,  Clallam  Indians,  Washington 434 

160.  Detail  of  figure  159 435 

161.  Twined  wallet,  Nez  Perce  Indians,  Idaho 438 

162.  Detail  of  figure  161 439 

163.  Linguistic  map  of  California 442 

164.  Old  feathered  baskets  from  Oregon 446 

165.  Tiny  coiled  basket,  Porno  Indians 458 

166.  Tiny  coiled  basket,  Porno  Indians 458 

167.  Coiled  basket,  Hoochnom  Indians,  California 459 

168.  Detail  of  figure  167 460 

169.  Twined  basket  bowl,  Klamath  Indians,  Oregon 4.61 

170.  Detail  of  figure  169 462 

171.  Carrying  basket,  McCloud  River  Indians,  California 464 

172.  Grasshopper  basket,  Wikchumni  Indians,  California 480 

173.  Detail  of  figure  172 480 

174.  Coiled  bowl,  Coahuilla  Indians,  California 484 

175.  Inside  view  of  figure  174 585 

176.  Square  inch  of  figure  174 485 

177.  Coiled  bowl,  Coahuilla  Indians,  California 486 

1 78.  Twined  basket,  Dieguenos  Indians,  California 487 

179.  Woman's  hat,  Ute  Indians,  Utah 490 

180.  Harvesting  fan,  Paiute  Indians,  Utah 491 

181.  Harvesting  fans,  Paiute  Indians,  Utah 492 

182.  Gathering  basket,  Paiute  Indians,  Utah 493 

183.  Bottom  of  figure  182 493 

184.  Border  of  figure  182 494 

185.  Carrying  basket,  Paiute  Indians,  Utah _ 494 

186.  Roasting  tray,  Paiute  Indians,  Utah 495 

187.  Coiled  jar,  Paiute  Indians,  Utah 496 


XXII  LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Page. 

188.  Square  inch  of  figure  187 497 

189.  Coiled  basket  jar,  Zufii  Indians,  New  Mexico 503 

190.  Coarse  wickerwork,  Hopi  Indians,  Arizona 506 

191.  Ancient  basketry  gaming  wheel,  Pueblo  Indians,  New  Mexico 508 

192.  Coiled  bowl,  Coyotero  Indians,  Arizona 512 

193.  Basket  jar,  Apache  Indians 513 

194.  Coiled  basket  bowl,  Apache  Indians 514 

195.  Coiled  plaque,  Navaho  Indians 515 

196.  Sacred  basket  tray,  Navaho  Indians 516 

197.  Border  of  figure  196 516 

198.  (k)urd  in  coiled  network,  Pima  Indians,  Arizona 519 

199.  Coiled  bowl,  Pima  Indians 520 

200.  Coiled  bowl,  Pima  Indians 521 

201.  Coiled  bowl,  Pima  Indians 522 

202.  Coiled  bowl,  Pima  Indians 523 

203.  Coiled  granary,  Pima  Indians 524 

204.  Carrying  net,  Araucanian  Indians 531 

205.  Carrying  net,  Chiriqui,  Colombia 532 

206.  Detail  of  figure  205 532 

207.  Ancient  Peruvian  work  basket 535 

208.  Detail  of  figure  207 536 

209.  Detail  of  a  Peruvian  basket 536 

210.  Detail  of  a  Peruvian  basket 536 

211.  Detail  of  a  Peruvian  basket 536 

212.  Ancient  coiled  basket  from  Chile 537 

THE  HERPETOLOGY  OF  PORTO  Rico. 
By  LEOXHARD  STEJXEGER. 

1 .  Bufo  lemur.     Head 570 

2-5.  Bufo  lemur,     2,  side  of  head;  3,  top  of  head;  4,  underside  forefoot;  5 

underside  hind  foot 571 

6-10.  Leptodactylus  albilabris.     6,  side  of  head;  7,  top  of  head;  8,  inside  of 

mouth;  9,  underside  of  forefoot;  10,  underside  of  hind  foot 575 

11-14.  Leptodactylus  albilabris,  tadpole.     11,  lateral  view;  12,  dorsal  view; 

13,  ventral  view ;  14,  mouth 577 

15-19.  Eleutherodactylus  auriculatus.     15,  side  of  head;  16,  top  of  head;  17, 
inside  of  mouth;  18,  underside  of  forefoot;  19,  underside  of  hind 

foot 584 

20-24.  Eleutherodactylus  antillensis.     20,   side  of  head;  21,  top  of  head;  22, 
inside  of  mouth;  23,  underside  of  forefoot;  24,  underside  of  hind 

foot 591 

25-29.  Eleutherodactylns  rlchmondl.     25,  side  of  head;  26,  top  of  head;  27, 
inside  of  mouth;  28,  underside  of  forefoot;  29,  underside  of  hind 

foot 594 

30-34.  Eleutherodactylus  monermx.     30,   side  of  head;  31,  top  of  head;   32, 
inside  of  mouth;  33,  underside  of  forefoot;  34,  underside  of  hind 

foot 596 

35-39.  Eleutherodactylus  unicolor.     35,   side  of  head;  36,   top  of  head;   37, 
inside  of  mouth;  38,  underside  of  forefoot;  39,  underside  of  hind 

foot 597 

40-45.  Hemidactylus  mabouia.     40,  side  of  head;  41,  top  of  head;  42,  under 
side  of  head;  43,  portion  of  upper  surface  of  tail;  44,  underside  of 

hind  foot;  45,  lateral  view  of  last  joint  of  toe 600 


LIST    OF   ILLUSTRATIONS.  XXIII 

Page. 

46-50.  Sphscrodactylus  grandisquamis.  46,  side  of  head;  47,  top  of  head;  48, 
underside  of  head;  49,  scales  on  middle  of  back;  50,  underside  of 
hind  foot 603 

51.  Sphxrodactylus  grandisquamis.     Color  pattern  of  head  and  shoulder.       604 

52.  Sphserodactylus  grandisquamis.     Color  pattern  of  head  and  shoulder.       605 

53-55.  Head-shields  of  Scincid  lizard 608 

56-58.  Mabuya  sloanii.     56,  top  of  head;  57,  side  of  head;  58,  underside  of 

head 610 

59-65.  Ameiva  exul.  59,  top  of  head;  60, side  of  head;  61,  underside  of  head; 
62,  dorsal  view  of  fore  leg;  63,  ventral  view  of  hind  leg;  64,  dor 
sal  view  of  hind  foot;  65,  preanal  plates 613 

66.  Ameiva  exul.     Dorsal  view  of  portion  of  tail 614 

67-72.  Ameiva  alboguttata.  67,  top  of  head;  68,  side  of  head;  69,  under 
side  of  head;  70,  dorsal  view  of  fore  leg;  71,  dorsal  view  of  hind 

foot;  72,  preanal  plates 619 

73.  Shields  on  top  of  head  of  Celestus 621 

74-79.  Celestus pleii.  74,  top  of  head;  75,  side  of  head;  76,  underside  of 
head;  77,  underside  of  right  forefoot;  78,  underside  of  left  hind 

foot;  79,  scales  on  back,  showing  arrangement  and  striation 623 

80.  Scutellation  of  top  of  head  of  Anolis 626 

81-84.  Anolis  cuvieri.     81,  side  of  head;  82,  top  of  head;  83,  underside  of 

hind  foot;  84,  skin  on  side  of  neck  and  dorsal  crest 628 

85-86.  Anolis  ricordii.     Santo  Domingo.     85,  side  of  headj  86,  top  of  head.       629 

87.  Anolis  cuvieri.     Side  of  tail  at  level  of  fifth  spine 630 

SB.  Anolis  ricordii.     Santo  Domingo.     Side  of  tail  at  level  of  fifth  spine.       630 
89-91.  Anolis  gvmdlachi.     89,  top  of  head;  90,  side  of  head;  91,  side  of  tail 

at  level  of  fifth  spine 634 

92-94.  Anolis  cristatellus.     92,  top  of  head;  93,  side  of  head;  94,  side  of  tail 

at  level  of  fifth  spine 638 

95-97.  Anolis  cristatellus.     95,  top  of  head;  96,  side  of  head;  97,  side  of  tail 

at  level  of  fifth  verticil „ 640 

98-101.  Anolis  monensis.     98,  top  of  head;  99,  side  of  head;  100,  underside  of 

head;  101,  side  of  tail  at  level  of  fifth  spine 646 

102-104.  Anolis  evennanni.     102,  top  of  head;  103,  side  of  head;  104,  side  of 

tail  at  level  of  fifth  verticil 648 

105-107.  Anolis  stratulus.     105,  top  of  head;  106,  side  of  head;  107,  side  of  tail 

at  level  of  fifth  verticil 652 

108-111.  Anolis  krugi.     108,  scales  around  middle  of  body;  109,  side  of  head; 

110,  top  of  head;  111,  side  of  tail  at  level  of  fifth  verticil 656 

112-116.  Anolis  pulchellus.     112,  scales  around  middle  of  body;  113,  side  of 
head;  114,  top  of  head;  115,  underside  of  hind  foot;  116,  side  of 

tail  at  level  of  fifth  verticil 661 

117-120.  Anolis  poncensis.     117,  scales  around  middle  of  body;  118,  side  of 

head;  119,  top  of  head;  120,  side  of  tail  at  level  of  fifth  verticil 666 

121.  Anolis  poncensis.     Top  of  head 668 

122-126.   Cydura  cornuta.     122,  top  of  head;  123,  side  of  head;  124,  underside 

of  head;  125,  toes,  showing  "comb";  126,  scales  on  side  of  tail 672 

127-128.  Shields  on  head  of  Amphisbatna 675 

129-130.  Amphisbsena  cse.ca.     129,  top  of  head;  130,  side  of  head 679 

131-132.  Amphisbxna  cceca.     131,  top  of  head;  132,  side  of  head 679 

133.  Amphisbsena  bakeri.     Top  of  head 681 

134-137.  Amphisbsena  bakeri.     134,  top  of  head;  135,  side  of  head;  136,  under 
side  of  head;  137,  anal  region 682 


XXIV  LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Page. 

138-140.  Head  shields  of  Typhlops 683 

141-144.  Typhlops  lumbricalis.  141,  top  of  head;  142,  side  of  head;  143,  under 
side  of  head;  144,  anal  region  and  underside  of  tail 685 

145-147.  Typhlops  rostellatus.  145,  top  of  head;  146,  side  of  head;  147,  under 
side  of  head 686 

148-150.  Epicrates  inornatus,  adult.     148,  side  of  head;  149,  top  of  head;  150, 

underside  of  head 689 

151-152.  Epicrates  inornatus,  young.     151,  top  of  head;  152,  side  of  head 690 

153-157.  Epicrates  monensis,  young.  153,  color  pattern,  top  of  head;  154, 
color  pattern,  top  of  head  of  another  specimen;  155,  side  of  head, 
scutellation;  156,  color  pattern  of  body,  lateral  view;  157,  color 
pattern,  side  of  head  and  neck 692 

158-160.  Head-shields  of  a  Coronellide  snake 694 

161.  Leimadophis  stahli.     Side  of  head 695 

162-163.  Leimadophis  stahli,     162,  top  of  head;  163,  underside  of  head 696 

164.  Leimadophis  stahli.     Color  pattern  around  middle  of  body 696 

165.  Leimadophis  stahli 696 

166.  Leimadophis  parvifrons.     Haiti.     Color  pattern  around  the  middle  of 

the  body 697 

167-169.  Leimadophis  exiguus.     167,    top   of   head;    168,    side   of  head;    169, 

underside  of  head 698 

170.  AlsopJiis  portoricensis 701 

171-173.  Alsophis  antillensis.  171,  top  of  head;  172,  side  of  head;  173,  under 
side  of  head 704 

174.  Alsophis  antillensis.     Color  pattern  around  middle  of  body 705 

175.  Dermochelys  coriacea,  young.     Entire  animal  from  above 708 

176-178.  Dermochelys  coriacea,  young.     176,  underside  of  shell;  177,  side  of 

head;  178,  underside  of  head 709 

179.  Pseudemys  palustris,  adult.     Shell  from  above 711 

180-184.  Pseudemys  palustris,  young.  180,  shell  from  above;  181,  shell  from 
below;  182,  shell  from  side;  183,  top  of  head;  184,  upper  side  of 

forefoot 712 

185-186.  Pseudemys  palustris,  young.     Color  pattern  of  head;  185,  underside; 

186,  side 713 

187.   Carctla  caretta,  young.     Entire  animal  from  above 715 

188-190.   Caretta  caretta,  young.     188,  shell  from  below;  189,  head  from  side; 

190,  underside  of  head - 716 

191-192.   Chelonia  mydas.     Florida.     191,  top  of  head;  192,  side  of  head 717 

193.  Eretmochelys  imbricata.     Shell  from  above 718 

194-197.  Eretmochelys  imbricata.     194,  shell  from  below;  195,  top  of  head;  19(5, 

side  of  head;  197,  right  fore  flipper,  dorsal  view 719 


ABORIGINAL  AMERICAN  BASKETRY: 
STUDIES  IN  A  TEXTILE  ART  WITHOUT  MACHINERY. 


BY 


OTIS  TITFTOT^MASOX, 

(•iirator,  Division  of  Kt.JinoI.o</ij. 


171 


i 
i 

f 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


Page. 

Introduction •. 185 

I.  Definition  of  basketry 188 

Kinds  of  woven  basketry 190 

Kinds  of  coiled  basketry 190 

Vocabulary  of  basketry 193 

1 1 .  Materials  for  basketry 197 

Plants  used  in  basketry  (F.  V.  Coville) 199 

III.  Basket  making 214 

Harvesting  materials 215 

Preparing  materials 217 

Processes  of  manufacture 221 

Woven  basketry 222 

Coiled  basketry 244 

Water-tight  basketry. 258 

Borders  on  basketry 259 

IV.  Ornamentation  on  basketry 279 

Form  and  structure 280 

Shapes  of  baskets  as  a  whole 282 

Mosaic  elements  in  decoration 286 

Designs  in  decoration 295 

Ornamentation  through  color 300 

V.  Symbolism 312 

VI.  Uses  of  basketry 335 

In  the  carrying  industry 338 

In  defense  and  war 341 

In  dress  and  adornment 342 

In  fine  art  and  culture 343 

In  preparing  and  serving  food 345 

In  gleaning  and  milling 347 

In  house  building  and  furniture 352 

In  mortuary  customs 353 

In  relation  to  the  potter's  art 354 

As  a  receptacle 355 

In  religion 356 

In  social  life 358 

In  trapping 359 

In  carrying  water 360 

Alphabetical  list  of  uses 361 

VM  I.  Ethnic  varieties  of  basketry 363 

List  of  basket-making  tribes 367 

Eastern  North  America 372 

Alaska  and  the  North  Pacific 391 

Athapascan  coiled  basketry 392 

Eskimo  basketry 395 

173 


t/vs 


174  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

\71I.    Ethnic  varieties  of  basketry — Continued.  Page. 
Alaska  and  the  North  Pacific — Continued. 

Aleutian  basketry 403 

Tlinkit  basketry _  406 

Haida  basketry 414 

The  Eraser-Columbia  region 41(> 

The  California-Oregon  region 440 

The  Interior  Basin  region 48S 

Shoshoneaii  and  Pueblo  1  tasketry 489 

Athapascan  basketry 510 

Middle  and  South  America _  _ .  525 

VIII.  Collectors  and  collections 538 

Preservation  of  baskets 540 

IX.   Bibliography 545 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PLATES. 

Facing  page. 

1.  Modified  forms  on  basketry 548 

2.  Pima  basketry  showing  fretwork 548 

3.  Porno  fine  coiled  basket 548 

4.  Hazelnut  ( Corylus  calif ornico) 548 

5.  Wolf  moss  (Evernia  vnlpina) 548 

6.  Klamath  gambling  tray, 548 

7.  Sitka  spruce  ( Picea  sitchensu] 548 

8.  Threeleaf  sumac  ( Rhus  trilobata] 548 

9.  Tule  (Sdrpus  lacustris) 548 

10.  Giant  cedar  ( Thuja  plicata] ' 548 

11.  Klikitat  imbricated  basket 548 

12.  Porno  basketmaker 548 

13.  Tlinkit  basketmaker 548 

14.  Checkerwork  in  cedar  bark 548 

15.  Cigar  case  in  twilled  weaving 548 

16.  Hopi  twilled  basketry 548 

17.  Mohave  carrying  basket 548 

18.  Attu  woman  weaving  baskets 548 

19.  Porno  twined  baskets 548 

20.  Porno  diagonal  twined  baskets 548 

21 .  Ute  twined  jars 548 

22.  Porno  twined  baskets 548 

23.  Furcated  stitches  on  coiled  basketry 548 

24.  Openwork  coiled  basket 548 

25.  Porno  coiled  treasure  baskets 548 

26.  Alaskan  Eskimo  coiled  basket 548 

27.  Hopi  coiled  basketry 548 

28.  Zuni  old  coiled  baskets 548 

29.  Porno  three-rod  coiled  basket 548 

30.  Hopi  coiled  plaques 548 

31.  Ancient  openwork  coiled  basket 548 

32.  Ancient  basket  bottles 548 

33.  Apache  ancient  water  jar 548 

34.  Porno  three-strand  border 548 

35.  Salish  imbricated  baskets 548 

36.  Mission  Indian  coiled  bowl 548 

37.  Tlinkit  twined  baskets 548 

38.  Tulare  gambling  plaques 548 

39.  Navaho  sacred  baskets 548 

40.  Kern  and  Tulare  hats  and  mush  bowls 548 

41.  Kern  and  Tulare  bottle-neck  baskets 548 

42.  Apache  coiled  ojlas 548 

175 


176  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

Facing  page 

^     43.  Salish  and  Klikitat  imbricated  baskets  .  .^rrf^^^rfeetrtT?;^ 548 

44.  Tlinkit  false  embroidery 548 

45.  Old  imbricated  baskets 548 

46.  Washoe  fine  coiled  baskets 548 

47.  Hopi  wickerwork  plaque 548 

48.  Klamath  old  twined  bowls 548 

49.  Ancient  basket  jars 548 

50.  Pi  ma  basket  bowls. . ." - 548 

j    51.  Skokomish  twined  wallet -  -  -  548 

52.  Apache  coiled  basket 548 

53.  Kern,  Inyo,  and  Tulare  bowls 548 

54.  Tulare  coiled  bowls 548 

t    55.  Salish  imbricated  baskets £\Cl£tA^. -fiiJ^A* - 548 

56.  Maidu  coiled  baskets 548 

57.  Maidu  c< >iled  baskets 548 

58.  Pinia  coiled  bowl 548 

59.  Pima  coiled  bowls 548 

60.  Ancient  Pima  coiled  bowls 548 

61.  Pima  coiled  basket 548 

62.  Mission  Indian  coiled  bowls 548 

63.  Pima  basket  bowls 548 

64.  Chetimacha  twilled  basket 548 

65.  Tlinkit  modern  twined  baskets 548 

66.  Oregon  and  California  twined  basketry 548 

67.  Tlinkit  twined  covered  jar 548 

•  68.  Salish  imbricated  ware :  J. } -j .  J  -  ii  -?.£U  *u^-  .1 -  548 

69.  Porno  coiled  feathered  basket 548 

70.  Porno  coiled  feathered  basket 548 

71.  Tlinkit  twined  wallets 548 

72.  Ancient  Tlinkit  twined  wallets 548 

73.  Tlinkit  covered  twined  baskets 548 

74.  Symbolism  on  Salish  basketry  -7v 548 ""] 

"""•  75.  Symbolism  on  Salish  basketry . ./ 548 

-    76.  Symbolism  on  Sal ish  basketry .  j .  .frl-l  Ois  -F/2uVl  C\  *>;<•  i  i  .&.{.  ,±^.1  i  -, 548 

77.  Symbolism  on  Salish  basketry.  .>. "IfjL..^?,  r  -5- -,-:-T  -  •+  -I  -  -?-f  ->-,- , /' 548 

78.  Symbolism  on  Salish  basketry  _  A. : . . . . 548 

79.  Symbolism  on  Salish  basketry . .  i 548 

80.  Yuki  sun  basket 548 

81 .  Porno  gift  basket 548 

82.  Symbolism  on  Washoe  baskets 548 

83.  Tulare  bottle-neck  baskets 548 

84.  Ancient  cliff-dwellers'  baskets 548 

85.  Hopi  wicker  plaque 548 

86.  Hupa  burden  bearer 548 

87.  Sandals  of  ancient  Cliff  Dwellers 548 

88.  I  lupa  twined  sandal 548 

89.  Tulare  coiled  cup  and  jar 548 

90.  I  Fupa  and  Porno  feathered  baskets ...  548 

"^-V    91.  Klikitat  imbricated  baskets  548 

92.  Hupa  food  baskets 548 

93.  Hopi  sacred  coiled  trays ...  548 

94.  Oraibi  woman  drying  corn 548 

95.  Amazonian  basketry  and  materials 548 

96.  Hupa  harvesting  baskets 548 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS.  177 

Facing  page. 

97.  Porno  milling  baskets 548 

98.  Tulare  meal  and  mortar  baskets 548 

99.  Yokut  woman  sifting  meal 548 

100.  Havasupai  woman  screening  corn 548 

101 .  Coahuilla  woman  grinding  acorns 548 

1 02.  Mohave  storage  basket 548 

103.  Hopi  bridal  costume  case 548 

104.  Ancient  mortuary  baskets 548 

105.  Ancient  Peruvian  lace  work 548 

106.  Relationship  between  basketry  and  pottery 548 

107.  Basketry  preserved  by  pottery 548 

108.  Tlinkit  twined  baskets 548 

109.  Tlinkit  twined  covered  basket 548 

110.  Hopi  sacred  dance  baskets 548 

111.  Hupa  woodpecker  dance 548 

112.  Porno  wedding  baskets 548 

113.  Porno  jewel  baskets 548 

1 14.  Porno  jewel  baskets 548 

115.  Tulare  gambling  tray  and  dice 548 

116.  Tulare  gambling  tray  and  dice 548 

117.  Paiute  basket  bottles 548 

118.  Navaho  water  carriers 548 

119.  Algonkin  Indian  basketry 548 

120.  Abenaki  Indian  basketmaker 548 

21 .  ( Ihippewa  Indian  basketmakers 548 

22.  ( 'hippewa  bark  matting 548 

23.  Athapascan  snowshoe  detail 548 

24.  Ojibwa  coiled  baskets 548 

25.  Central  Eskimo  coiled  basket 548 

126.  Central  Eskimo  coiled  basket 548 

127.  Comanche  coiled  tray 548 

128.  Coiled  basket  of  pine  needles 548 

129.  Dog  Rib  Indian  game  bag   548 

130.  Potsherds  showing  textile  impressions 548 

131.  Ojibwa  twined  wallet 548 

132.  Chetimacha  twilled  basketry 548 

133.  Chetimacha  twilled  basketry 548 

134.  Choctaw  twilled  baskets 548 

135.  Attakapa  twilled  baskets 548 

136.  Alaskan  Eskimo  basketry 548 

137.  Alaskan  Eskimo  twined  wallet 548 

138.  Chukchi  twined  wallet 548 

139.  Kamtchatkan  twined  wallet 548 

1 40.  ( luikchi  coiled  baskets 548 

141.  Alaskan  Eskimo  coiled  basket 548 

142.  Aleut  twined  basket 548 

143.  Aleut  twined  basket 548 

144.  Attu  basketmaker 548 

145.  Aleut  manual  training 548 

146.  Tlinkit  twined  wallets 548 

147.  Tlinkit  basketmakers , 548 

148.  Chilkat  ceremonial  blanket 548 

149.  Haida  twined  wallets ,,,-,,  548 

NAT   MUS    1902 12 


178  REPOBT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

Facing  page. 

150.  Haida  basketmakers 54S 

151.  Xutka  Indian  hats 548 

152.  Salish  twilled  basket 54S 

153.  Makah  Indian  basketmakers 548 

154.  Types  of  Salish  basketry 548 

155.  Types  of  Salish  basketry 548 

151).  Salish  inil)ricated  baskets 548 

1 57.  Salish  imbricated  baskets 548 

158.  Cowlitx  and  Klikilat  imbricated  baskets . 548 

159.  Klikitat  imbricated  basketry  (old  forms) 548 

160.  Klikitat  imbricated  basketry  (modern  forms) ...  548 

161.  Klikitat  imbricated  basket 548 

1  62.   Quinaielt  twined  wallets ...  548 

1  63.  Salish  basketry , 548 

1(54.  Skokomish  twined  wallets 548 

165.  Clallam  twined  baskets ,  548 

166.  Tillamuk  and  Chinook  twined  wallets 548 

1 67.  Modoc  and  Ne/  Perce  women's  hats 548 

168.  Wasco  twined  wallets 548 

1 69.  Wasco  twined  wallets 548 

1 70.  Hupa  twined  baskets 548 

171.  Hupa  basketmaker 548 

172.  Klamath  and  Wintun  }>asketmakers , 548 

1 73.  Porno  basket  in  Tee  weave 548 

1 74.  Klamath  three-strand  baskets 548 

1 75.  Pit  River  twined  baskets 548 

1 76.  Shasta  twined  baskets 548 

1 77.  Hat  Creek  Indian  basketry 548 

1 78.  Hat  Creek  Indian  1  >asketry 548 

1 79.  Washoe  basket  bowls 548 

1 80.  Washoe  coiled  basket 548 

181 .  Washoe  basketmaker 548 

1 82.  Eastern  California!!  coiled  baskets 548 

183.  Panamint  Indian  coiled  bowls 548 

184.  Panamint  coiled  bowls 548 

185.  Tulare  coiled  baskets 548 

186.  Tulare  coiled  basket 548 

187.  Tulare  coiled  jars 548 

188.  Kern  and  Tulare  coiled  baskets 548 

189.  Tulare  coiled  baskets 548 

190.  Tejon  coiled  baskets 548 

191.  Kern  and  Tulare  coiled  baskets 548 

192.  Caliente  Creek  Indian  baskets 548 

193.  Kern  coiled  basket 548 

194.  Kern  coiled  basket 548 

195.  Kern  coiled  basket 548, 

196.  Kern  coiled  baskets 548 

197.  Mission  Indian  basketmaker 548, 

198.  Saboba  Indian  basketmaker 548, 

199.  Mission  Indian  basket  bowl - 548, 

200.  Havasupai  basketmaker 548 

201.  Ancient  cave  baskets 548 

202.  Ancient  cave  baskets 548, 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS.  179 

Facing  page. 

203.  Mission  Indian  twined  bag 548 

204.  Paiute  water  bottles 548 

205.  Ancient  Basket  Makers'  coiled  trays 548 

206.  Ancient  Basket  Makers'  coiled  ware 548 

207.  Ancient  Basket  Makers'  coiled  tray 548 

20S.  Ancient  Basket  Makers'  coiled  tray : . . .  548 

201).  Ancient  Basket  Makers'  coiled  bowls 548 

210.  Ancient  Basket  Makers'  food  receptacles    548 

21 1 .  Ancient  Basket  Makers'  hopper 548 

212.  Sia  ancient  coiled  baskets -  548 

213.  Ancient  Zufii  basketry -  -  -  548 

214.  Ancient  Pueblo  coiled  basketry 548 

215.  I lopi  basketmaker 548 

216.  Hopi  coiled  plaques 548 

217.  Oraibi  basket  weaver 548 

218.  Ancient  baskets  from  Oraibi 548 

219.  Ancient  wicker  basket 548 

220.  Ancient  twilled  and  coiled  ware 548 

221.  Ancient  Pueblo  basketry 548 

222.  Ancient  Pueblo  basketry : 548 

223.  Ancient  Pueblo  basketry 548 

224.  Apache  coiled  bowls 548 

225.  Apache  coiled  bowls 548 

226.  Apache  coiled  bowls 548 

227.  Mescalero  coiled  baskets 548 

228.  Navaho  coiled  bowls 548 

229.  I  \ avasu pai  coiled  basketry 548 

230.  Havasupai  coiled  bowls 548 

231 .  I  lavasupai  basketmaker 548 

232.  Chemehuevi  coiled  baskets 548 

233.  Pinia  coiled  bowl 548 

234.  Pinia  coiled  baskets 548 

235.  Pinia  basketmaker 548 

236.  Yaqui  plume  basket 548 

237.  Yaqui  covered  baskets 548 

238.  Yenezuelan  basketmaker 548 

239.  Arawak  Indian  basketry 548 

240.  Brazilian  carrying  baskets 548 

241.  Brazilian  carrying  baskets 548 

242.  Ecuador  twilled  weaving 548 

243.  A  ncient  Peruvian  workbasket 548 

244.  Peruvian  ancient  twined  carrying  frame 548 

245.  Ancient  Chilean  coiled  basketry 548 

246.  Ancient  Chilean  coiled  basketry 548 

247.  Ancient  Chilean  coiled  basketry 548 

248.  Peruvian  modern  coiled  basketrv  . .  548 


TEXT  FIGURES. 

Page. 

1.  Mud  shoes,  Klamath  Indians,  California 215 

2.  Coarse  checkerwork 223 

3.  Fine  checkerwork 223 

4.  Open  checkerwork 224 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

Page. 

Twilled  work 224 

Twilled  work 224 

7.  Ancient  twilled  work,  Alabama 225 

8.  Ancient  twilled  work,  Tennessee 295 

9.  Twilled  weaving,  Cherokee  Indians,  North  Carolina 226 

10.  Wicker  basket,  Znfii,  New  Mexico 227 

11.  Close  wickerwork,  Hopi  Indians,  Ari/ona 228 

12.  Twilled  and  nicker  mat,  Ilopi  Indians,  Ari/ona 229 

13.  Wrapped  weaving,  Mohave  Indians,  Ari/ona 230 

14.  Wrapped  weaving,  from  mound  in  Ohio 231 

15.  Plain  twined  weaving 232 

16.  Openwork  twined  wallet,  Aleutian  Islands 233 

17.  Twined  openwork,  Aleutian  Islands 234 

18.  Crossed  warp,  twined  weave,  Makah  Indians,  Washington 234 

19.  Diagonal  twined  weaving,  Fte  Indians,  Utah 234 

20.  Diagonal  twined  basketry,  Porno  Indians,  California 235 

21.  Wrapped  twined  weaving 235 

)    22.   Wrapped  twined  weaving,  Makah  Indians,  Washington 236 

23.  Detail  of  mixed  twined  weaving  (outside) 237 

24.  Detail  of  mixed  twined  weaving  (inside) 237 

25.  Variety  in  twined  weaving  ( outside ) 238 

26.  Variety  in  twined  weaving  (inside) 238 

27.  Tee  or  lattice-twined  weaving,  Porno  Indians,  California 239 

28.  Three-strand  braid  and  twined  work  (outside) 239 

29.  Three-strand  braid  and  twined  work  (inside) 239 

30.  Basket-jar  in  3-strand  twine,  Ilopi  Indians,  Ari/ona 240 

31 .  Three-strand  and  plain  twined  weaving 24 1 

32.  Three-strand  braid,  (a)  outside,  (/>)  inside 241 

33.  Carrying  basket,  3-strand  braid,  Klamath  Indians,  ( )regon 242 

34.  Warp  stems  crossed  in  pairs 243 

35.  Warp  stems  crossed  in  fours 243 

36.  Sixteen  stems  woven  in  fours 243 

37.  Warp  stems  crossed  in  fours  and  twined 243 

38.  Six  warp  stems  parallel 244 

39.  Warp  stems  crossed  in  threes;  held  by  wicker 244 

40.  Bone  awl  for  coiled  basketry 245 

41 .  Cross  sections  of  varieties  in  coiled  basketry 247 

42.  Carrying  basket,  Pima  Indians,  Ari/ona _ 248 

43.  Detail  of  interlocking  stitches 248 

44.  Foundation  of  three  rods  laid  vertically,  Mescalero  Apache  Indians 249 

45.  Detail  of  figure  44 250 

46.  Detail  of  single-rod  coil  in  basketry 250 

47.  Foundation  of  two  rods,  vertical 251 

48.  Rod  and  welt  foundation 252 

49.  Water  jar  in  coiled  basketry,  Wolpi,  Ari/ona 252 

50.  Foundation  of  three  rods,  stitches  catching  rod  underneath 253 

51.  Foundation  of  splints 254 

52.  Imbricated  work  detail,  called  Klikitat 254 

53.  Imbricated  coiled  work,  called  Klikitat 255 

54.  Imbricated  basketry  detail,  Thompson  River 255 

55.  Overlaying  in  coiled  work 256 

56.  Foundation  of  straws  in  coiled  work 256 

57.  Coil  with  open  sewing,  inclosing  parts  of  foundation 257 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS.  181 

Pago. 

58.  Foundation  of  grass  or  shredded  materials 257 

59.  Fuegian  coiled  basket,  and  details 258 

60.  Coiled  border  on  checker  weaving 260 

61 .  Weft  and  warp  fastened  down  with  twine,  (a)  front,  (b)  back 261 

62.  Three-strand  warp  border  in  wicker  work 262 

68.   Border  made  by  weaving  warp  rods  in  pairs 262 

64.  Single-strand  coiled  border,  Moravian  Settlement,  North  Carolina 263 

65.  Braided  border  from  warp 263 

66.  Twined  wallet,  Quinaielt  Indians,  Washington 264 

67.  Single-strand  twined  border,  Porno  Indians 264 

68.  Three-strand  twined  border 265 

69.  Border  of  llupa  twined  basket 265 

70.  Wrapped  warp  border,  Zuni,  New  Mexico 266 

71 .  Border  of  Paiute  twined  basket 266 

72.  Three-strand  warp  border,  Porno  Indians 267 

73.  Two-strand  twine,  onlaid  for  border,  Tlinkit  Indians 268 

74.  Three-strand  braid  woven  in  for  border,  Tlinkit  Indians 269 

75.  Border  of  braid,  onlaid,  Tlinkit  Indians 269 

76.  Border  of  turned-down  warp  with  2-strand  twine,  Tlinkit  Indians 270 

77.  Border  of  4-strand  braid,  turned-down  warp,  Tlinkit  Indians 271 

78.  Border  of  4-strand  braid  onlaid,  warp  turned  down,  Tlinkit  Indians 271 

79.  Border  inclosing  hoop,  Tlinkit  Indians 272 

80.  Border  of  3-strand  braid,  Tlinkit  Indians. 272 

81.  Mixed  twined  work,  Haida  Indians,  British  Columbia 273 

82.  Simple  coil  border,  Paiute  Indians,  Utah 274 

83.  Simple  wrapped  border 274 

84.  Three-strand  coiled  border,  Hopi,  Arizona 275 

85.  Detail  of  figure  84 275 

86.  Single-strand  plaited  border 276 

87.  Single-strand  plaited  border,  Havasupai  Indians,  Arizona 276 

88.  Plain  coiled  border  on  bark  vessel 277 

89.  Coil  and  knot  border  on  bark  vessel 277 

90.  Plain  coiled  border  on  bark  vessel 278 

91 .  Coil  and  knot  border  on  bark  vessel 278 

92.  Checker  ornament  in  two  colors 288 

93.  Amazonian  basket  decorations  in  checker 288 

94.  Twilled  work  in  two  colors 289 

95.  Diaper  twilled  work  in  two  colors 289 

96.  Diagonal  twilled  ornament,  British  ( iuiana 290 

97.  Human  iigures  in  twined  weaving,  ancient  Peru 291 

98.  Design  on  coiled  bowl,  Tulare  Indians 292 

99.  Detail  of  figure  98 293 

100.  Pima  carrying  frame,  southern  Arizona 294 

101 .  Wrapping  weft  fillets  with  darker  ones 307 

102.  Beading  on  twined  work,  Klarnath  Indians 308 

1 08.   Beading  on  coiled  work,  Clallam  Indians,  Washington 309 

1 04.  Overlaid  twined  weaving 309 

105.  Breast  bands  for  hauling,  Zuni,  New  Mexico 339 

106.  Carrying  frame,  Papago  Indians,  Mexico 339 

107.  Twined  cradle,  Hupa  Indians 340 

108.  Stick  armor  twined  together,  California 341 

109.  Ceremonial  basket,  Hupa  Indians,  California 358 

110.  Ash  log  for  making  splints,  Menomini  Indians 375 


182  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 

Page. 

111.  Wooden  mallet  for  loosening  splints 376 

112.  Basketmaker's  knife  of  native  workmanship 376 

113.  Coil  of  basket  strips 377 

114.  Finished  wicker  basket 378 

115.  Coiled  basketry,  Hopewell  Mound,  Ohio 380 

116.  Coiled  basketry,  Hopewell  Mound,  Ohio 380 

117.  Wickerwork  from  cave  in  Kentucky 381 

118.  Charred  fabric  from  mound 382 

119.  Charred  fabric  from  mound 382 

120.  Twined  fish  trap,  Virginia  Indians 383 

121.  Twined  weave  from  ancient  pottery,  Tennessee 385 

122.  Twined  weave  from  ancient  pottery,  Tennessee 385 

123.  Detail  of  twilled  basketry  border,  Choctaw  Indians,  Louisiana 387 

124.  Border  of  twilled  basketry,  Choctaw  Indians,  Louisiana 387 

125.  Twilled  basket,  Arikara  Indians 389 

126.  Ancient  twilled  matting,  Petit  Anse  Island,  Louisiana 390 

127.  Coiled  workbasket,  Tinne  Indians,  Alaska 392 

1 28.  Coiled  workbasket,  Tinne  Indians 393 

129.  Coiled  workbasket,  Tinne  Indians 393 

130.  Coiled  workbasket,  Tinne  Indians 394 

131.  Detail  of  coiled  basket,  Tinne  Indians 394 

1 32.  Tobacco  basket,  Hupa  Indians,  California 395 

133.  Detail  of  Eskimo  twined  wallet 397 

134.  Coiled  basket,  Eskimo  Indians,  Alaska 398 

135.  Bottom  of  figure  134 399 

136.  Detail  of  Eskimo  coiled  basket 400 

137.  Twined  basket  wallet,  Tlinkit  Indians,  Alaska 409 

138.  False  embroidery,  Tlinkit  Indians,  Alaska 410 

139.  Detail  of  false  embroidery 410 

140.  Carrying  wallet,  Tlinkit  Indians,  Alaska 411 

141 .  Twined  and  wicker  weave,  Tlinkit  Indians,  Alaska 41 1 

142.  Wallet,  Chilkat  Indians,  southeastern  Alaska 412 

143.  Hat  in  fine  twined  weaving,  Haida  Indians,  British  Columbia 413 

144.  Detail  of  figure  143 413 

1 45.  Twined  openwork  basket,  Haida  Indians 414 

146.  Detail  of  figure  145 , 414 

147.  Unfinished  basket,  Haida  Indians 415 

148.  Virginia  Indian  woman  weaving  a  basket 416 

149.  Detail  of  wrapped  basket,  Clallam  J  ndians 41 7 

150.  Wrapped  twined  basket,  Makah  Indians,  Cape  Flattery 418 

. .,     151.  Bottom  of  Makah  basket 418 

152.  Detail  of  Nutka  hat 419 

153.  Cross  section  of  Nutka  hat 419 

154.  Checkerwork  basket,  Bilhula  Indians,  British  Columbia 422 

155.  Coiled  and  imbricated  basket 426 

^    156.  Imbricated  basket,  Yakima  Indians,  Washington 43 1 

/    157.  Imbricated  basket,  Cowlitz  Indians 432 

j    158.  Twilled  basketwork,  Clallam  Indians,  Washington 433 

159.  Water-tight  basket,  Clallam  Indians,  Washington 434 

160.  Detail  of  figure  159 435 

161 .  Twined  wallet,  Nez  Perce  Indians,  Idaho 438 

162.  Detail  of  figure  161 439 

163.  Linguistic  map  of  California 442 


LIST    OP    ILLUSTRATIONS  188 

Page. 

164.  Old  feathered  baskets  from  Oregon 446 

165.  Tiny  coiled  basket,  Porno  Indians 458 

166.  Tiny  coiled  basket,  Porno  Indians 458 

167.  Coiled  basket,  Hoochnom  Indians,  California 459 

168.  Detail  of  figure  167 460 

169.  Twined  basket  bowl,  Klamath  Indians,  Oregon 461 

170.  Detail  of  figure  169 462 

171 .  Carrying  basket,  McCloud  River  Indians,  California 464 

172.  Grasshopper  basket,  Wikchumni  Indians,  California „ 480 

173.  Detail  of  figure  172 480 

174.  Coiled  bowl,  Coahuilla  Indians,  California 484 

175.  Inside  view  of  figure  174 485 

176.  Square  inch  of  figure  1 74 485 

177.  Coiled  bowl,  Coahuilla  Indians,  California 486 

178.  Twined  basket,  Dieguenos  Indians,  California 487 

179.  Woman's  hat,  Ute  Indians,  Utah 490 

180.  Harvesting  fan,  Paiute  Indians,  Utah 491 

181 .  Harvesting  fans,  Paiute  Indians,  Utah 492 

182.  Gathering  basket,  Paiute  Indians,  Utah 493 

183.  Bottom  of  figure  182 493 

184.  Border  of  figure  182 494 

185.  Carrying  basket,  Paiute  Indians,  Utah 494 

186.  Roasting  tray,  Paiute  Indians,  Utah 495 

187.  Coiled  jar,  Paiute  Indians,  Utah 496 

188.  Square  inch  of  figure  187 497 

189.  Coiled  basket  jar,  Zuni  Indians,  New  Mexico 503 

190.  Coarse  wickerwork,  Hopi  Indians,  Arizona 506 

191.  Ancient  basketry  gaming  wheel,  Pueblo  Indians,  New  Mexico 508 

192.  Coiled  bowl,  Coyotero  Indians,  Arizona 512 

193.  Basket  jar,  Apache  Indians 513 

194.  Coiled  basket  bowl,  Apache  Indians 514 

195.  Coiled  plaque,  Navaho  Indians 515 

196.  Sacred  basket  tray,  Navaho  Indians 516 

197.  Border  of  figure  196 516 

198.  Gourd  in  coiled  network,  Pima  Indians,  Arizona 519 

199.  Coiled  bowl,  Pima  Indians 520 

200.  Coiled  bowl,  Pima  Indians 521 

201 .  Coiled  bowl,  Pima  Indians 522 

202.  Coiled  bowl,  Pima  Indians 523 

203.  Coiled  granary,  Pima  Indians 524 

204.  Carrying  net,  Araucanian  Indians 531 

205.  Carrying  net,  Chiriqui,  Colombia 532 

206.  Detail  of  figure  205 532 

207.  Ancient  Peruvian  work  basket 535 

208.  Detail  of  figure  207 536 

209.  Detail  of  a  Peruvian  basket 536 

210.  Detail  of  a  Peruvian  basket. 536 

211 .  Detail  of  a  Peruvian  basket 536 

212.  Ancient  coiled  basket  from  Chile  . .  537 


ABORIGINAL  AMERICAN  BASKETRY: 
STUDIES  IN  A  TEXTILE  ART  WITHOUT  MACHINERY. 


By  OTIS  TITFTON  MASON, 
Curator,  Division  of  Ethnology.  " 


Adde  et  bascuada  et  mille  escaria. 

TERENCE,  12:46. 

Barbara  de  pictis  veni  bascuada  Britannis 
Sed  me  jam  mavult  dicere  Roma  suum. 

MARTIAL,  XIV:  9 


INTRODUCTION 

Aboriginal  British  or  Pictish  baskets  and  a  thousand  receptacles, 
says  Terence,  were  carried  to  Rome  by  the  successors  of  Julius  Caesar, 
and  Martial  adds  that  the  word  "basket"  is  Pictish/'  though  the  Romans 
would  have  us  believe  it  to  have  been  indigenous. 

Remnants  of  basketry  are  gathered  from  the  Swiss  lake  dwellings, 
made  in  several  of  the  technical  processes  well  known  to  the  American 
Indians  and  to  be  described  later. 

In  the  second  volume  of  Keller's  Lake  Dwellings  (pis.  134-137) 
are  startlingly  interesting  groups  of  such  basketry.  You  have,  first 
of  all,  the  methods  of  treating  the  bark  of  trees  and  flax  to  form  the 
fiber  in  various  stages  of  preparation.  Network  and  frame  weaving- 
are  also  there  illustrated,  but  in  this  place  attention  is  drawn  only  to 
the  basketry.  On  his  Plate  134  may  be  seen  plain  checkerwork  and 
twined  work  in  2- strand  and  3-stand  varieties,  also  coiled  work  in  the 
following  varieties:  (ft)  Foundation  of  two  rods,  sewing  done  with  bark 
strips  so  as  to  inclose  both  rods  below,  the  stitches  interlocking;  (b) 
foundation  of  two  rods,  sewing  inclosing  them  both,  but  not  one  of  the 
rods  underneath;  the  stitches  interlock  and  split  the  upper  portion  of 
the  one  just  below,  as  in  many  American  baskets.  The  twined  work  of 
Robenhausen  and  Wangen  is  in  a  great  number  of  varieties.  There  is 
solid,  plain  weaving;  also  open  work  twined  weaving,  the  body  being 
stems  of  plants;  borders  are  held  together  with  twined  weaving.  In 
some  specimens  of  open  work  the  warp  of  twined  weaving  is  in  pairs; 

«On  the  derivation  of  the  word,  however,  consult  the  New  English  Dictionary  and 
the  Century  Dictionary. 

185 


186  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MTTSEUM,   1902. 

but  there  are  not  shown  in  any  of  Keller's  plates  the  types  of  twined 
work  in  which  the  warp  plays  any  part  for  ornamentation;  and  in  the 
remains,  so  far  as  examined,  no  attempts  are  made  at  embroidery,  or 
overlaying,  or  any  of  the  species  of  tine  decoration,  to  be  seen  in  the 
Alaskan  or  Calif ornian  weaving-. a 

fe 

In  the  Arabian  Nights,  the  story  of  the  lady  who  was  murdered  by 
her  husband  mentions  a  very  large  basket,  by  its  size  reminding  one 
of  the  granary  baskets  of  California,  but  this  was  evidently  in  coiled 
work,  very  much  in  the  style  of  the  Hopi  plaques.  The  Caliph, 
Haroun  Alraschid  — 

came  to  the  baa V  cf  the  river,  and  the  fisherman,  having  thrown  in  his  net,  when 
he  drew  it  out  again  brought  up  a  trunk,  close  shut  and  very  heavy.  .The  Caliph 
made  the  vizier  pay  him  100  sequins  immediately  and  sent  him  away.  Mesrour, 
by  his  master's  orders,  carried  the  trunk  on  his  shoulders,  and  the  Caliph, 
eager  to  know  what  it  contained,  returned  to  the  palace  with  all  speed.  When  the 
trunk  was  opened,  they  found  in  it  a  large  basket  made  of  palm  leaves,  shut  up,  and 
the  covering  sewed  with  red  thread.  To  satisfy  the  Caliph's  impatience,  they  cut 
the  thread  with  a  knife  and  took  out  of  the  basket  a  package  wrapped  in  a  sorry 
piece  of  hanging  and  bound  about  with  rope,  in  which,  when  untied,  they  found,  to 
their  amazement,  the  dead  body  of  a  young  lady  cut  in  small  pieces. 

The  Ute  Indians  in  ancient  times  used  basketry  for  mortuary  pur 
poses,  but  by  them  made  of  the  rarest  material  and  with  faultless 
workmanship,  adorned  with  symbols  of  their  religion.  The  dead  man 
or  woman  was  covered  with  a  large  carrying  basket,  and  all  around 
were  laid  with  loving  care  the  finest  specimens  of  the  craft. 

It  is  interesting  to  know  that  the  first  mention  of  baskets  in  the 
Bible  is  in  connection  with  dreams.  Joseph  was  a  prisoner  in  Egypt. 
He  had  interpreted  the  butler's  dream  so  favorably  that  Pharaoh's 
baker  came  also  to  him. 

When  the  chief  baker  saw  that  the  interpretation  was  good,  he  said  unto  Joseph, 

1  also  was  in  my  dream,  and,  behold,  I  had  three  white  baskets  on  my  head;  and 
in  the  uppermost  basket  [«//]  there  was  of  all  manner  of  baked  meats  [sweetmeats] 
for  Pharaoh ;  and  the  birds  did  eat  them  out  of  the  basket  upon  my  head.    And  Joseph 
answered  and  said,  This  is  the  interpretation  thereof:  The  three  baskets  are  three 
days;  yet  within  three  days  shall  Pharaoh  lift  up  thy  head  from  off  thee,  and  shall 
hang  thee  on  a  tree;  and  the  birds  shall  eat  thy  flesh  from  off  thee. 

Jt  may  in  general  be  assumed  that  the  baskets  used  by  the  Israelites 
were  not  unlike  those  of  the  Egyptians.  If  the  ancient  baskets  of 
Egypt  resembled  the  modern,  those  mentioned  were  of  the  coiled  type, 
made  from  palm  leaf,  resembling  thick  bread  plaques  of  the  Hopi 
pueblos  of  Arizona.  They  were  doubtless  in  use  throughout  North 
Africa  long  before  the  days  of  Joseph. 

Specimens  of  this  type  of  ancient  coiled  basketry  were  dug  up  by 
Randall-Mad ver  and  Wilkin  at  El  Armah,  6  miles  south  of  the  site  of 

a  Ferdinand  Keller,  The  Lake  Dwellings  of  Swit/erland  and  other  parts  of  Europe, 

2  vols.,  London,  1878. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  187 

Abydos,  in  middle  Egypt.  They  are  the  oldest  that  have  yet  been 
found  in  the  world.  El  Armah  dates  back  to  the  earliest  "  new  race," 
through  the  entire  middle  period  down  to  the  late  prehistoric  in 
Eg}^pt.  Far  up  the  Nile  the  type  persists.  It  will  be  seen  in  abun 
dance  at  Aden,  and  it  exists  in  much  more  elegant  material  in  Hin 
dustan.  This  proves  the  persistence  of  a  single  type  through  six 
thousand  years.  Long  ago  caravans  took  it  into  the  heart  of  Africa, 
and  the  reader  must  not  be  surprised  further  on  in  discovering  at 
least  a  limited  sphere  of  influence  for  it  in  America,  where  the  descend 
ants  of  the  Moors  who  invaded  Spain  left  them. 

The  Greek  word  for  basket  is  kaneon,  or  kanastron,  from  kanna,  a 
reed,  whence  our  cannister,  through  the  Latin  canistra.  Or,  to  come 
closer  to  our  theme,  basketry  was  made  long  ago  in  the  warmer  coun 
tries  of  the  Old  World,  as  they  are  now  in  the  New,  from  cane.  In  the 
time  of  Homer  this  word  was  applied  frequently  to  receptacles  of 
clay,  bronze,  and  gold.  Doubtless,  in  earlier  ages  the  Greek  women 
were  nimble-lingered  basket  makers,  but  the  forms  are  not  preserved. 

Wherever  civilization  has  come  in  contact  with  lower  races,  whether 
in  Britain,  Africa,  Polynesia,  or  America,  it  has  found  the  woman 
enjoying  the  most  friendly  acquaintance  with  textile  plants  and  skill 
ful  in  weaving  their  roots,  stems,  and  leaves  into  basketry,  matting, 
and  other  similar  products  without  machinery.  Basketry  was  well- 
nigh  universal  throughout  the  Western  Hemisphere  before  the  dis 
covery,  while  at  least  one-half  of  the  area  was  devoid  of  pottery.. 

Ancient  cemeteries,  mounds,  caves,  ruins,  and  lake  dwellings  gave 
evidence  of  the  high  antiquity  of  the  art  in  both  continents.  The 
researches  of  Holmes  and  Willoughby  on  mound  pottery;  of  Yarrow 
and  Schumacher  in  southwestern  California;  of  Gushing,  Fewkes,  and 
Hough  in  ancient  pueblos;  of  Nordenskjold  and  Pepper  in  the  cliff 
dwellings  of  the  southwest;  of  G.  O.  Dorsey,  of  the  Field  Columbian 
Museum,  and  many  European  explorers  in  Peru,  demonstrate  that  no 
cfianges  have  taken  place  in  this  respect^  either  in  the  variety  of  the 
technical  processes  or  the  fineness  of  the  workmanship.  There  is  an 
unbroken  genealog}T  of  basket  making  on  the  Continent,  running  back 
to  the  most  ancient  times. 

For  a  time  cheap  patented  ware  made  from  veneering  threatened  to 
obliterate  the  ancient  plicated  basket,  but  at  the  same  time  the  latter 
became  exalted  to  a  pastime  and  a  fine  art,  and  there  were  never  so 
many  genuine  lovers  of  the  handicraft  as  at  present. 

In  the  past  few  years  a  sympathetic  spirit  has  been  awakened  in  the 
United  States  to  keep  alive  this  charming  aboriginal  art  and  to  pre 
serve  its  precious  relics.  In  every  State  in  the  Union  will  be  found 
rich  collections,  both  in  public  and  private  museums.  People  of 
wealth  vie  with  one  another  in  owning  them.  It  almost  amounts  to  a 
disease,  which  might  be  called  "canastromania."  They  resemble  the 


188  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 

"merchantman  seeking  goodly  pearls,  who,  \vhen  he  had  found  one 
pearl  of  great  price,  went  and  sold  all  that  he  had  and  bought  it." 
The  genuine  enthusiasm  kindled  in  the  search,  the  pride  of  success 
in  the  acquisition,  the  care  bestowed  upon  them,  witness  that  the 
basket  is  a  worthy  object  of  study.  The  story  is  told  of  a  distin 
guished  collector  who  walked  many  weary  miles  to  the  shelter  of  a 
celebrated  old  weaver.  He  spent  the  day  admiring  her  work,  but 
still  asking  for  something  better.  He  knew  that  she  had  made  finer 
pieces.  At  last  flattery  and  gold  won.  She  tore  out  the  back  of  her 
hut,  and  there,  hid  from  mortal  eyes,  was  the  basket  that  was  to  be 
burned  at  her  death.  Nothing  could  be  more  beautiful,  and  it  will  be 
her  monument. 

I.  DEFINITION   OF  BASKETRY 

A  place  for  everything. — FRANKLIX. 

Basketry  is  the  mother  of  all  loom  work  and  beadwork.  In  that 
elaboration  of  industries,  through  which  they  pass  from  naturism  to 
artiricialism,  from  handwork  to  machine  work,  from  human  power  to 
beast  power,  wind  power,  water  power,  steam  or  lire  power,  and  electric 
power,  the  loom  is  no  exception.  The  first  and  most  versatile  shuttles 
were  women's  fingers.  Machinery  has  added  speed-  But  there  are 
many  niceties  of  technic  to  which  the  machine  device  can  not  yet 
aspire. 

Over  and  above  the  sympathetic  spirit  engendered  and  the  kind 
encouragement  given  to  exquisite  and  most  worthy  artists  by  the  col 
lection  of  basketry,  the  study  is  a  very  important  one  from  the  side  of 
culture.  It  is  the  alpha  of  an  art  in  which  billions  of  capital  are 
invested,  millions  of  human  beings  are  employed,  whose  materials  and 
products  are  transported  to  earth's  remotest  limits,  whose  textures 
are  sought  by  every  tribe  of  mankind.  It  is  from  this  last  point  of 
view  that  the  present  work  is  written. 

The  praises  of  men  who  invented  the  cotton  gin,  the  power  loom, 
and  the  tapestry  loom  will  be  repeated,  and  monuments  erected  to 
memorialize  those  who  harnessed  the  forces  of  nature  to  do  their  bid 
ding.  Here  a  good  word  is  said  for  the  earlier,  more  primitive,  women 
who  made  the  others  possible.  It/is  true  that  pride  in  the  ownership 
of  an  exquisite  piece  of  work  may  be  joined  with  frigid  indifference 
toward  the  maker.  Jt  is  to  be  hoped  that  with  admiration  of  Amer 
ican  basketry  may  be  coupled  a  humane  feeling  for  Indian  \vomen 
themselves,  who  have  made  so  much  genuine1  pleasure  possible. 

American  basketry,  ancient  and  modern,  may  be  studied  under  the 
following  subdivisions: 

I.   Definition  of  the  art,  its  materials,  tools,  processes,  and  products. 
II.  Materials  for  basketry,  with  lists  of  plants,  animals,  minerals,  including  the 
Indian  name,  common  names,  scientific  names. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  189 

III.  Basket  making  or  construction. 

Harvesting  materials,  with  account  of  tools  and  apparatus. 
Preparing  materials,  including  the  tools  and  processes,   peeling,   splitting, 
making  splints,  shredding,  soaking,  cleaning,  yarning  or  twisting,  twin- 
j     ing,  braiding,  gauging,  coloring  (dyeing). 
Processes  of  manufacture — tools,  apparatus,  and  patterns. 
Braiding,  checkerwork,  wicker,  twilled,  wrapped  woof,  twined,  and  coiled, 

and  checks,  decussations,  meshes,  stitches.     Women  at  work. 
I  V.  Ornamentation  on  basketry. 

1.  Forms  and  structure  in  baskets. 

2.  Mosaic  elements  in  decoration. 

3.  Design  in  technic  and  color. 
Symbolism,  also  absence  of,  and  meanings. 
Uses  of  basketry. 

Ethnic  varieties  and  culture  provinces,  ancient  and  modern.     Indian  names. 
VIII.  Collections,  public  and  private. 
IX.  Bibliography. 

For  convenience,  basketry  may  be  compared  in  the  following-named 
regions: 

1.  Eastern  region:  Canada,  Eastern  States,  Southern  States,  West 
ern  States. 

2.  Alaskan  region:  Interior  Alaska,  Arctic  Alaska,  Aleutian  Chain, 
Southeastern  Alaska,  Queen  Charlotte  Archipelago. 

3.  Eraser-Columbia  region:  Eraser  drainage,  Columbia  drainage. 

4.  Oregon-California  region:  Southern  Oregon,  California. 

5.  Interior  Basin  region:  Between  Rocky  Mountains  and  the  Sierras. 

6.  Middle  and  South  American  region:  Mexico,  Central  America, 
eastern  and  western  South  America. 

These  regions  must  be  regarded  only  as  convenient  divisions  for 
reference.  The  last  named  is  a  measure  of  ignorance,  rather,  for  it 
could  easily  be  divided  into  half  a  dozen  regions.  Again,  before  the 
balance  of  savagery  had  been  violently  disturbed  by  the  discovery  of 
the  hemisphere  there  were  migrations  of  native  blood  and  speech  and 
arts.  Basketry  further  on  will  be  witness  to  many  of  these. 

Basketry  is  differentiated  from  network  by  the  fact  that  the  meshes 
of  the  latter  are  not  formed  by  decussations,  but  by  knots;  and  from 
loom  products,  not  only  by  the  material,  which  is  usually  less  rigid, 
but  by  the  workmanship,  which  is  done  by  machinery.  Needlework 
is  approached  in  coiled  basketry  and  beadwork  borrows  from  all  weaves. 
No  wide  gulf  separates  the  different  varieties  of  textiles,  however, 
beginning  with  such  coarse  products  as  brush  fences  and  fish  weirs  and 
ending  with  the  finest  lace  and  needlework. 

In  form  basketry  varies  through  the  following  classes  of  objects: 

1.  Flat  mats  or  wallets,  generally  flexible. 

2.  Plaques  or  food  plates,  which  are  slightly  concave.     These  occur 
in  quality  of  the  coarsest  sieve  to  that  of  the  sacred  meal  tray. 

3.  Bowls  for  mush  and  other  foods  and  for  ceremonial  purposes, 
hemispherical  in  general  outline. 


190  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

4.  Pots   for  cooking,  with  cylindrical   sides   and  rounded  or   flat 
bottoms.     These  vary  into  cones,  truncated  cones,  and  trough-shaped 
baskets. 

5.  Jars  and  fanciful  shapes,  in  which  the  mouth  is  constricted,  fre 
quently  very  small,  and  now  and  then  supplied  with  cover.     Thev  are 
spindle  shaped,  pyriform,  napiform,  and,  indeed,  imitate  fruits  known 
to  the  natives.     The  influence  of  civilization  in  giving  modern  shapes 
to  basketry  has  not  always  been  beneficial  to  this  class  of  forms. 

W.  11.  Holmes,  writing  of  the  transition  from  service  to  decoration, 
speaks  of  form  in  and  on  basketry  as  (1)  functional  and  essential  only, 
(2)  functional  and  aesthetic  combined,  and  (3)  as  suprafunctional  and 
wholly  aesthetic. 

There  are  two  distinct  types  of  technic  in  basketry,  namely,  (1)  hand- 
woven  basketry,  which  is  built  on  a  warp  foundation,  and  (2)  sewed 
or  colled  basketry,  which  is  built  on  a  foundation  of  rods,  splints,  or 
straws. 

KINDS  OF  WOVEN  BASKETEY 

A.  Checkerwork:  The  warp  and  the  weft  having  the  same  width, 
thickness,  and  pliability. 

B.  Diagonal  or  twilled  basketry :  Two  or  more  weft  strands  over  two 
or  more  warp  strands. 

C.  Wickerwork:  Inflexible  warp;  slender,  flexible  weft. 

D.  Wrapped  weft,    or  single  weft   wrapped:   The  weft  strand   is 
wrapped,  or  makes  a  bight  about  the  warp  at  each  decussation,  as  in 
the  Mohave  Kilu>. 

E.  Twined  or  wattled  basketry:  Weft  of  two  or  more  elements. 

KINDS  OF  COILED  BASKETRY 

A.  Coiled  work  without  foundation. 

B.  Simple  interlocking  coils. 

C.  Single-rod  foundation. 

D.  Two-rod  foundation. 

E.  Rod  and  welt  foundation. 

F.  Two-rod  and  splint  foundation. 

G.  Three-rod  foundation. 
//.   Splint  foundation. 

7.   Grass-coil  foundation. 

IL  Fuegian  coiled  basketry. 

These  will  be  described  at  length  in  the  proper  place. 

In  basket-making  there  are  several  characteristics  to  be  observed 
which  will  enable  one  to  classify  the  objects  and  to  refer  them  to 
their  several  tribal  manufacturers.  These  characteristics  are  the 
material,  the  framework,  the  methods  of  weaving,  the  coiling  or  sew 
ing,  the  border,  the  decoration,  the  use,  etc. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  191 

The  tool  almost  universally  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  coiled 
ware  is  a  bone  awl  or  pricker.  Of  the  manipulation  of  the  material 
previously  to  the  weaving  little  is  known. 

In  the  technical  drawings  accompanying  this  paper  the  actual  size  of 
the  specimens  is  generally  indicated  by  a  series  of  inch  marks  in 
the  margin.  The  inches  on  the  standard  line  are  shown  by  spaces 
between  dots.  In  order  to  indicate  exactly  the  manner  of  weaving,  a 
square,  usually  an  inch  in  dimension,  is  taken  from  a  portion  of  the 
surface  wherein  all  the  methods  of  manipulation  occur.  This  square 
is  enlarged  sufficiently  to  make  the  structure  comprehensible.  This 
plan  enables  one  to  show  form  and  ornamentation  in  the  whole  figure, 
as  well  as  the  method  of  treatment  in  the  enlarged  inch. 

The  writer  is  indebted  to  a  large  number  of  friends  in  various  parts 
of  the  United  States,  especially  on  the  Pacific  slope,  who  have  given 
him  access  to  their  valuable  collections,  furnished  information,  and 
sent  photographs.  P^special  thanks  are  due  to  F.  V.  Coville  for  writing 
the  chapter  on  plants,  to  William  H.  Holmes  for  advice  in  matters  of 
ornamentation,  and  to  Dr.  C.  Hart  Merriam  for  privilege  of  studying 
the  precious  collection  made  by  him.  Many  friends  who  have  gener 
ously  given  their  special  knowledge  and  supplied  photographs  and 
illustrations  will  be  mentioned  in  the  proper  place.  At  the  same  time 
he  would  express  his  admiration  of  their  zeal  and  generosity,  through 
which  the  Sybilline  leaves  of  an  almost  lost  chapter  in  human  industrial 
history  has  been  rescued  from  oblivion. 

With  a  few  exceptions  the  makers  of  baskets  are  women.  In  the 
division  of  labor  belonging  to  the  lowest  stages  of  culture  the  indus 
trial  arts  were  fostered  by  women,  the  military  and  aggressive  arts  by 
men.  It  is  a  well-known  rule  in  these  first  stages  of  progress  that, 
with  few  exceptions,  the  user  of  an  implement  or  utensil  was  the 
maker  of  it.  There  are  people  on  the  earth  among  whom  the  men  are 
the  basket  makers.  Indeed,  for  ceremonial  purposes  our  own  Indian 
priests  or  medicine  men  are  frequently  the  makers  of  their  own  basket 
drums,  etc. 

As  soon  as  the  products  of  this  art  entered  into  the  world's  com 
merce,  and  uncanny  machinery  was  necessary  for  the  manufacture,  the 
art  of  basket  weaving  passed  from  the  hands  of  its  foster  mothers  and 
became  man's  work,  but  in  the  Western  Hemisphere  almost  exclusively 
the  basket  makers  have  been  women. 

It  is  a  matter  of  profound  regret  that  already  over  much  of  the 
United  States  the  art  has  degenerated,  or  at  least  has  been  modified. 
In  methods,  forms,  and  colors  truly  old  things  have  passed  away,  and, 
behold,  all  things  have  become  new.  But  proof  is  forthcoming  that 
the  contrary  is  true  in  some  places.  The  Hyde  Expedition  and  other 
associations  have  made  determined  efforts  to  resist  the  demoralizing 
influences  of  trade. 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 

This  process  of  extinction  has  gone  on  with  differing  rapidity  in  the 
several  areas.  Nothing-  ancient  in  mechanical  processes,  in  form,  and 
design  can  be  predicated  of  the  basketry  sold  at  summer  resorts.  The 
trees  are  felled  by  the  white  man  and  the  trunks  divided  into  ribbons 
by  his  latest  machinery.  The  Indian  woman  uses  a  steel  gauge  to 
regulate  the  width  of  her  weft,  steel  awls  for  sewing.  Even  in  West 
ern  ware the  demand  and  influence  of  mercenary  motives  drown  the 
cry  of  the  ancient  spirit  in  the  lowly  artist.  Plate  1  will  show  the 
conflict  for  preeminence  between  the  old  and  the  new.  Dogs  and 
horses  are  mingled  with  designs  older  than  the  Discoverv.  (See 
also  Plates  4*4,  168.) 

But  it  is  not  alone  the  unrefined  public  who  eliminate  the  delightful 
classic  from  the  decoration  of  basketry;  men  and  women  with  the 
most  exalted  motives  have  for  centuries  substituted  European  and 
Asiatic  forms  for  aboriginal  in  basketry. 

Plate  ^  is  worthy  of  notice  in  this  regard.  Eliminate  the  human 
figures  altogether  as  pictorial  and  realistic  and  without  standing  in  an 
art  whose  designs  are  preeminently  symbolical.  The  others  are 
divided  into  two  series,  those  bearing  some  suggestion  of  old  patterns 
and  those  covered  with  classical  fretwork  as  the  underlying  motive 

»  «""> 

and  then  inn  wild  with  savage  freehand.  (See  also  Plates  50,  r>S,  233.) 
The  reason  for  the  genuine  unspoiled  art  of  the  tribes  in  northwestern 
California  is  given  by  Carl  Purdy.  The  Franciscan  fathers  who  built 
the  missions  in  the  central  and  southern  portions  of  the  State  never 
penetrated  these  wilds;  the  traders  of  the  Hudson's  Hay  Company, 
whose  presence  and  traffic  changed  the  arts  of  other  Indians  so  pro 
foundly,  did  not  come  so  far  south,  and  Mexican  soldiers  were  driven 
out  of  the  country.  It  was  not  until  settlers  in  the  middle  of  the  last 
century  began  to  maltreat  the  Indians  that  bloody  conflicts  arose  which 
resulted  in  their  present  status,  but,  fortunately,  these  pioneers  had 
no  interest  in  baskets  and  probably  did  not  notice  them.  There  are  in 
possession  of  old  families  in  the  Eastern  States  baskets  sent  home  by 
the  Forty-niners  that  now  are  worth  their  weight  in  gold.  The  forms 
and  designs  on  these  are  similar  to  many  still  made.  This  indicates 
that  the  art  has  kept  its  old-time  purity. 

It  must  be  distinctly  understood  that  many  basket-making  Indians 
arc  not  now  in  their  priscan  homes.  Besides  the  migration  occasioned 
by  the  ordinary  motives  operating  on  the  minds  of  savages,  the  rapid 
intrusion  of  white  settlers  and  the  strong  arm  of  the  Government  have 
hastened  these  movements.  For  our  purposes  these  compulsory  migra 
tions  must  be  noted  specially  in  the  case  of  basket  makers.  For 
example,  on  the  Round  Valley  reservations  in  northern  California  are 
the  Concow  (Pujunan);  and  from  the  eastern  side  of  the  Sacramento  Val 
ley,  the  Nornelakki  and  Wailaki  (Copehan),  Little  Lakes  (Kulanapan), 
Ukie  (Yukian),  and  Pit  rivers  (Palaihnahan),  belonging  to  five  abso 
lutely  different  linguistic  families.  Now,  in  a  collection  of  baskets 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  193 

from  Kound  Valley  one  must  not  be  surprised  to  lind  shapes,  uses, 
decorations,  and  names  for  the  same  form  or  part  or  design  extremely 
varied  and  mixed. 

The  author  is  aware  that  he  has  come  far  short  of  doing  justice  to 
his  theme.  Omissions  will  be  noticed,  and  it  is  feared  that  some  refer 
ences  of  work  to  the  wrong  band  or  tribe  have  been  made.  This  is 
unavoidable  in  a  great  museum.  It  is  only  in  such  rare  collections 
as  have  been  gathered  with  one's  own  hands  that  such  errors  can  be 
avoided. 

VOCABULARY  OF  BASKETRY 

So  much  is  said  and  written  on  the  subject  of  Indian  basketry  that 
a  vocabulary  is  desirable.  On  some  terms  all  are  even  now  agreed. 
All  things  considered,  words  in  common  use  should  be  adopted. 
There  are,  as  before  mentioned,  two  absolutely  different  kinds  of 
technic  employed,  dividing  basketry  into  woven  and  coiled.  The 
former  leads  to  the  loom,  the  latter  to  the  needle.  It  is  not  correct 
to  speak  of  warp  and  weft  in  the  latter,  only  in  the  former;  the  parts 
of  coiled  basketry  are  \h^  foundation  and  the  sewing.  The  following 
terms  and  definitions  are  suggested,  not  arbitrarily,  but  subject  always 
to  amendment  and  common  consent.  Words  from  Indian  languages 
are  purposely  omitted.  A  few  of  them,  however,  ought  to  be  retained, 
such  as  "tee,"  for  the  Porno  twined  weaving: 

Basket. — A  vessel  or  receptacle  in  textile  material;  a  technic  product 
resembling  this. 

Basketry. — A  general  term -including  (1)  basket  making,  the  process 
or  art;  (2)  basket  work,  the  technic  or  stitches,  any  textile  motive 
resembling  work  in  baskets;  (3)  basket  ware,  a  collection  of  finished 
products. 

Beading. — A  strip  of  bark  or  a  splint  run  in  and  out  through  the 
spaces  in  woven  or  among  the  stitches  in  coiled  basketry. 

Braidwork. — Fabric  in  which  three  or  more  elements  are  braided, 
as  in  some  three-strand  twined  basketry.  See  False  braid.  Preferred 
to  the  word  plaited.  There  may  be  flat,  round,  or  square  braid.  The 
term  sennit  is  also  allowable. 

Buttonhole  stitch. — A  series  of  half  hitches,  as  in  Fuegian  coiled 
basketry. 

Check. — Where  warp  and  weft  cross. 

Checkerwork. — Basket  work  in  which  the  warp  and  weft  are  equally 
flexible  and  the  checks  are  square,  or  at  least  rectangular. 

Chevron. — V-shaped  ornament,  in  which  two  or  more  colored  lines 
meet  at  an  angle;  for  example,  the  device  on  the  sleeve  of  a  non 
commissioned  officer.  (See  1I<  rriiKjhone  and  Zigzag.} 

Chinking. — Soft  materials  between  hard  stems  in  the  foundation  of 
coiled  basketry. 

NAT  MUS  1902- 13 


194  EEPOET    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

Coil. — An  element  in  basketry  ornamentation.  The  varieties  are 
plain  coil,  reversed  coil,  loop  coil,  continuous  loop  coil. 

Coiled  basketry. — Type  of  basket  work  in  which  a  foundation  of 
hard  or  soft  material,  arranged  in  a  spiral,  is  held  together  by  means 
of  over-and-over  sewing. 

Crossed  warp. — T}Tpe  of  basket  work  in  which  two  sets  of  warp 
cross  each  other  at  an  angle — for  interlacing  weft,  for  seizing  or 
wrapping  (Makah),  or  for  twined  weaving,  common  in  Attu  wallets. 

Decussations. — Crossing  of  warp  at  acute  angles. 

Diagonal  weaving. — Passing  weft  over  two  or  more  warp  elements, 
but  not  the  same  in  adjoining  rows.  Used  here  chiefly  of  twined 
weaving  to  distinguish  it  from  twilled  weaving  with  single  weft 
element;  also  running  the  weft  at  an  angle,  as  in  matting. 

Diaper. — A  surface  decoration  which  shows  a  pattern  by  the  relief 
or  direction  of  warp  and  weft. 

Designs. — Figures  and  patterns  used  in  the  ornamentation  of  bas 
ketry.  Must  not  be  confounded  with  Symbol. 

Embroidery. — Ornamentation  added  after  the  basket  is  finished. 
(See  False  embroidery.) 

Fagotting. — Same  as  Hemstitch. 

False  braid. — An  appearance  of  braid  work  on  the  margin  of  a  bas 
ket  made  with  a  single  splint  in  ball  stitch  or  "racking-seizing." 

False  embroidery.— An  appearance  of  embroidery  made  on  Tlinkit 
and  other  twined  ware  by  wrapping  the  strands  on  the  outside  with 
colored  material  in  the  process  of  weaving. 

Fiber. — A  flexible  substance  composed  of  filaments  such  as  cedar 
bark,  wild  hemp,  etc. 

Frap. — To  bind  one  element  about  another. 

Fret. — The  Greek  ornament  occurring  in  endless  variety  on  basketry. 

Furcate. — Said  of  stitches  in  coiled  sewing  intentionally  and  sym 
metrically  split — bifurcate,  trifurcate,  etc. 

Fylfot. — Ornament  imitating  a  Greek  cross  with  arms  extended  at 
right  angles,  all  in  the  same  direction;  called  also  Swastika. 

Gorrita. — The  shallow  basket  bowl  of  the  Pimas  and  other  south 
western  tribes. 

Hemstitch. — Drawing  warps  together  in  groups  of  two  or  more  and 
holding  them  by  twined  weavings.  Seen  in  Aleutian  openwork  wal 
lets.  Called  also  fagotting. 

Herringbone. — Basketry  designs  in  which  chevron  patterns  are  in 
parallel  series. 

Herringbone  border. — On  coiled  basketry  a  finish  in  which  with  a 
single  splint  the  appearance  of  3-ply  braid  is  given.  (See  False  braid.) 

Hitched  weft. — Basket  work  in  which  the  weft  makes  a  half  hitch 
about  each  warp  element.  In  coiled  work  -it  would  be  hitched  sewing, 
same  as  buttonhole  stitch. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  195 

Hurdle. — A  coarse  form  of  basket  work  in  brush  and  trees  for  hunt 
ing  and  fishing*  purposes. 

Imbricated  ornament.— Coiled  basketry  in  which  a  strip  of  soft 
material  is  folded  back  and  forth  over  the  stitches,  overlapping  like 
shingles  on  a  roof  or  the  folds  in  knife  plaiting.  Klikitat  and  Fraser 
River  basketry  are  imbricated. 

Impacted. — Driven  close  together,  as  the  weft  or  stitches  in  basketry. 

Inset. — A  pattern  worked  separately  into  a  basket.  The  Chilcat 
blankets  are  thus  woven. 

Interlacing. — The  crossing  and  intertwining  of  parts,  as  in  woven 
baskets  and  borders. 

Interstices. — Open  spaces  left  in  weaving. 

Knife  plaiting. — See  Imbricated  ornament. 

Lattice  weaving. — Basket  work  in  which  a  frame  of  rods  crossing  at 
right  angles  is  held  together  by  wrapping  the  intersections  with  a 
single  splint  or  ribbon,  as  in  Makah  basketry,  or  by  a  twined  weft,  as 
in  the  Porno  Tee  weaving. 

Multiple  coil. — The  foundation  of  coiled  basketry  made  up  of  fila 
ments,  grass  stems,  or  splints. 

Musk,emoot. — Loucheux  netted  bags  of  babiche.  Coiled  work  with 
out  foundation. 

Meander. — Crossed  frets  in  basketry  ornament. 

Oblique  weaving. — Chiefly  in  matting,  where  the  Aveaving  begins  at 
one  corner. 

Osier.— Basket  materials  prepared  from  small  stems  of  willow  or 
similar  plants.  Shoots  of  dogwood  (Cornus  stolonifera)  are  called 
red  osier. 

Overlaying.  —Laying  a  split  straw  or  other  colored  material  on  a 
tough  weft  splint  or  sewing  material  in  basket  making,  to  take  the 
place  of  colored  bark.  If  the  two  are  not  twisted  on  each  other,  the 
figure  does  not  show  inside  the  basket. 

Padding. — Soft  material  in  the  foundation  of  coiled  basketry,  help 
ing  to  make  the  structure  water-tight.  (See  Chinking.) 

Pentacle. — In  basket  ornament  a  5-pointed  star,  whose  lines  inclose 
a  pentagon. 

Pierced  warp. — The  form  of  weaving  in  cat-tail  and  other  soft  mate 
rial  when  the  weft  strings  pass  through  the  warp.  The  warp  stems 
are  strung  on  the  weft  strings. 

Radial  warp. — The  arrangement  of  warp  elements  or  spokes  in  the 
bottom  of  a  cylindrical  basket.  They  may  be  (1)  crossed,  (2)  cut 
away,  or  (3)  inserted.  Radial  patterns  or  designs  are  such  as  proceed 
from  the  central  portion  of  a  bowl-shaped  basket  outward  to  the  border. 

Scroll  work. — Imitation  of  art  scroll  on  basketry.  It  is  usually 
angular. 

Sewing. — The  joining  of  parts  with  an  awl  and  splint.  Coiled  bas 
ketry  is  sewed,  not  woven. 


196  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

Shoots. — The  young  and  pliable  growth  of  plants  in  the  first  year. 
Rough  shoots,  prepared  shoots,  and  split  shoots  are  used. 

Shreds. — Irregular  strips  of  plants  used  in  foundations  of  coiled 
baskets. 

/Spiral.—  Term  applied  in  basket  making  and  decoration:  (1)  To  the 
whorled  coil,  wound  about  a  center  and  receding,  as  in  Hopi  plaques, 
flat  spiral;  (2)  to  the  helical  coil,  winding  on  a  cylinder,  cylindrical 
spiral,  as  in  coiled  jars;  (3)  to  the  conical  coil,  rising  in  a  cone,  conical 
spiral. 

Splint. — In  basketry,  a  long  strip  of  split  wood,  uniform  in  width 
and  thickness  for  weaving  or  sewing  materials.  Often  the  term  is 
more  loosely  applied  to  the  split  pieces  that  make  up  the  foundation  of 
coiled  work. 

Spoke. — Term  sometimes  applied  to  each  of  the  elements  in  radiating 
basket  warp. 

Stalk. — The  stems  of  reeds,  grass,  cattails,  etc.,  for  basket  materials. 

Stitches. — The  separate  elements  in  sewing  coiled  basketry.  They 
may  be  close  or  open,  whole  or  split  (furcate),  and  interlocked. 

Strand. — One  of  the  elements  of  the  weft  in  twined  basketry,  which 
may  be  two-strand,  three-strand,  etc. 

Strip. — A  narrow  ribbon  of  leaf  or  other  thin  basket  material 
answers  in  function  to  the  harder  splints. 

String. — Two  or  more  small  yarns  twisted  together.  The  warp  of 
twined  wallets  is  of  strings. 

Symbol. — The  meaning  of  a  design  on  a  basket.  Care  must  be  exer 
cised  in  the  use  of  this  word.  Only  the  maker  of  the  design  knows 
the  symbol  or  meaning. 

Tesselate. — Inlaid,  as  .in  checkered  mosaic.  The  checks  and  stitches 
as  well  as  the  designs  in  baskets  have  a  tesselate  appearance. 

Twine. — To  bend  something  around  another  object.  In  basketry, 
to  make  twined  ware  in  any  of  its  varieties,  plain,  twilled,  wrapped, 
latticed,  three-strand,  etc. 

Warp. — The  elements  of  woven  basketry  on  which  the  fabric  is  built 
up;  may  be  parallel,  decussated,  latticed,  radiated,  zigzag,  etc. ;  also  a 
single  one  of  these.  Each  element  may  be  called  a  warp.  (See  Spoke.) 

Wattling. — Coarse  fence  or  fish  weir  in  wicker  or  twined  basketry. 

Weft. — The  filling  of  woven  basketry,  same  as  woof. 

Weftage. — The  texture  of  woven  basketry. 

Whip  or  whipstitch. — To  sew  with  an  overcast  stitch,  with  long 
wrapping  stitches.  The  sewing  of  coiled  basketry  may  be  so  called. 
Borders  of  baskets  are  often  whipped  on. 

Wickerwork.—We&viiig  in  which  the  warp  is  rigid  and  the  weft 
flexible. 

Wind. — To  wrap  one  element  about  another.  Same  as  Frap.  In 
Thompson  River  wallets  the  twined  weft  is  wound  or  frapped  with 
corn  husk. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  197 

Wrapped  weft. — Basket  work  in  which  the  plain  or  twined  weft  is 
wrapped  with  soft  decorative  material. 

Waterproofing. — Resin  of  the  pine  and  mesquite  for  covering  and 
lining  basket  jars,  rendering  them  waterproof. 

Woof.— See  Weft. 

Yarn. — Fibers  twisted  together,  as  in  receptacles  made  from  native 
hemp. 

Zi-gzag.- — A  broken  line  of  equal  angular  portions  applied  to  struc 
ture  or  decoration  in  basketry. 

II.  MATERIALS   FOR  BASKETRY 

(Man  is  one  world,  and  hath  another  to  attend  him. — EMERSON.  \ 

Iii  the  manufacture  of  their  baskets  the  Indians  have  ransacked 
the  three  kingdoms  of  nature — mineral,  animal,  and  vegetal.  For 
the  first  named  Gushing  has  shown  how  the  Havasupai  Indians  line  the 
inside  of  a  basket  with  clay  in  order  to  render  it  fireproof.  A  great 
many  of  the  paints  or  dyes  with  which  the  baskets  are  colored  are 
drawn  from  the  mineral  kingdom.  In  the  decoration  of  basketry 
beautiful  stones  and  the  mineral  shells  of  mollusks  are  employed, 
either  whole  or  cut  into  beads  and  pendants.  (See  Plate  3.) 

Besides  the  beautiful  shells,  teeth,  wings  of  insects,  and  other  hard 
animal  substances  used  for  added  ornament,  softer  parts  enter  into 
the  very  texture  of  basket  work.  In  a  few  localities  the  tribes  have 
relied  on  them  largely.  It  will  be  seen  that  wool  of  goat,  sheep,  and 
llama  are  treated  in  precisely  the  same  manner  as  splints  of  wood.  The 
undressed  skins  of  smaller  mammals,  notably  the  rabbit,  are  cut  into 
strings  and  twisted;  and  dressed  hides  into  babiche  to  serve  as  weft  in 
woven  baskets  and  bags.  Sinew  thread  was  employed  in  making  coiled 
basketry  about  the  Great  Lakes  and  farther  north.  But  the  most 
serviceable  animal  substance  for  basketry  was  the  feather,  its  plume 
for  decoration  and  its  quill  for  hard  work  as  well  as  ornament.  Por 
cupine  quills  were  likewise  split  and  worked  into  coiled  basketry,  in 
addition  to  their  embellishment  of  birch-bark  utensils.  The  multitude 
of  uses  for  feathers  in  this  art  will  be  described  later. 

The  chief  dependence,  however,  of  the  basket  maker  is  upon  the 
vegetal  kingdom.  Nearly  all  parts  of  plants  have  been  used  by  one 
tribe  or  anottier  for  this  purpose — roots,  stems,  bark,  leaves,  fruits, 
seeds,  and  gums.  It  would  seem  as  though  in  each  area  for  purposes 
intended  the  vegetal  kingdom  had  been  thoroughly  explored  and 
exhausted  above  ground  and  under  ground.  Is  it  not  marvelous  to 
think  that  unlettered  savages  should  know  so  much  botany  ?  Mr.  Ches 
nut,  in  his  Plants  used  by  Indians  of  Mendocino  County,  California, 
calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  in  our  advanced  state  we  are  yet  behind 
these  savages,  not  having  caught  up  with  them  in  the  discovery  and 
uses  of  some  of  their  best  textile  materials. 


198  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 

How  did  the  savages  find  out  that  the  roots  of  certain  plants  hid 
away  under  the  earth  were  the  best  possible  material  for  this  function* 
And  for  another  use  the  stem  of  a  plant  had  to  be  found,  perhaps 
miles  away,  so  that  in  the  makeup  of  a  single  example  leagues  would 
have  to  be  traveled  and  much  discrimination  used.  Unless  the  utmost 
care  is  exercised  the  fact  will  be  overlooked  that  often  three  or  four 
kinds  of  wood  will  be  used  in  the  monotonous  work  of  the  weft.  One 
is  best  for  the  bottom,  another  is  light  and  tough  for  the  body,  a 
third  is  best  for  the  flexible  top.  This  in  addition  to  the  employment 
of  half  a  dozen  others  for  designs,  for  warp  or  foundation,  or  for 
decorative  purposes. 

Among  the  basket  maker's  materials  must  not  be  forgotten  the 
demand  for  water-tight  vessels.  Besides  the  widely  spread  faculty  of 
securing  this  result  by  texture,  there  were  present  in  certain  areas 
natural  substances  such  as  the  gum  of  the  piny  on  (Pinus  edidis),  the 
resin  of  various  pines,  and  even  the  mineral  asphalt. 

The  making  of  canteens  and  other  water  vessels,  in  lieu  of  potteiy, 
in  this  way  was  most  prevalent  among  the  Shoshonean  tribes  of  the 
Interior  Basin  and  the  migratory  Apache  farther  south.  Barrows a 
calls  attention  to  Humboldt's  Essay  on  New  Spain, b  in  which  the 
Indians  around  Santa  Barbara  are  spoken  of  as  "presenting  the  Span 
iards  with  vases  very  curiously  wrought  of  stalks  of  rushes"  and 
"covered  within  with  a  very  thin  layer  of  asphaltum  that  renders 
them  impenetrable  to  water." 

The  author  is  greatly  indebted  to  Mr.  Frederick  V.  Coville,  Botanist 
of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  for  the  identification  of  plants 
used  in  basketry  by  the  Indians  of  America  north  of  Mexico.  This 
list  contains  those  that  have  been  certainly  identified.  There  are 
other  plants  alleged  to  be  used  in  basketry,  but  of  which  no  scientific 
determination  has  been  made  as  yet.  A  complete  discussion  of  this 
part  of  the  subject  would  demand  that  for  each  tribe  making  baskets 
there  should  be  a  list  of  the  plants  employed  by  them,  and  for  each 
plant  used  a  list  of  the  tribes  by  whom  it  is  used.  Such  a  discussion 
requires  a  long  and  tedious  investigation  by  a  number  of  talented 
workers  cooperating.  It  is  hoped  that  the  chapter  here  given  by 
Mr.  Coville  will  be  a  starting  point  for  a  complete  study  of  Indian 
phytotechny. 

«  The  Ethno-botany  of  the  Coahuilla  Indians  of  Southern  California,  Chicago,  1900, 
p.  41. 

&  Vol.  II,  p.  297. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  199 

PLANTS  USED  IN  BASKETRY 

By  FREDERICK  V.  COVILLE. 

While  some  of  the  materials  used  by  American  Indian  tribes  in 
their  basketry  have  long  been  known,  by  far  the  larger  number  had 
not  been  identified  with  precision  prior  to  the  beginning  of  the  past 
decade.  Most  students  of  Indian  plants  had  been  satisfied  with  casual 
names  applied  by  themselves  or  given  to  them  by  botanists  after  the 
examination  of  fragmentary  specimens.  Since  the  year  1890  a  few 
botanists,  notably  Mr.  V.  K.  Chesnut,  of  the  Department  of  Agricul 
ture,  have  turned  their  attention  to  the  plants  used  by  the  aborigines 
and  have  made  new  records  with  definite  identifications  of  the  plants 
concerned,  covering  among  other  subjects  of  Indian  activity  that  of 
basketry.  When,  therefore,  after  Professor  Mason's  invitation  to 
prepare  a  chapter  on  the  subject,  the  compilation  of  existing  records 
was  begun  it  was  found  that  the  earlier  publications  contained  much 
that  was  indefinite,  considerable  that  was  incorrect,  and  a  little  that 
was  both  correct  and  exact.  The  notable  exception  to  the  general 
rule  was  the  publications  of  Dr.  Edward  Palmer,  whose  work  as  a 
botanical  collector  in  the  western  United  States  and  Mexico  extended 
from  the  late  sixties  of  the  last  century  to  the  present  time.  Under 
the  circumstances  it  was  determined  to  admit  only  such  matter  as  was 
capable  of  verification,  based,  first,  on  the  writer's  own  observation; 
second,  on  published  records  that  seemed  to  come  under  the  last  of 
the  categories  mentioned  above;  and,  third,  on  the  collections  of  the 
United  States  National  Museum.  A  few  unverified  statements  have 
been  admitted  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  them  to  the  attention  of 
those  who  may  be  in  a  position  to  verify  them.  In  the  case  of  state 
ments  which  did  not  originate  with  the  writer  a  parenthetic  reference 
indicates  the  source  of  the  information  and,  if  published,  the  year  of 
its  publication.  The  work  as  here  presented  is  recognized  as  by  no 
means  complete,  but  it  is  offered  as  a  substantial  basis  for  future 
investigation. 

Acer  macrophyllum.  Oregon  Maple. 

Piil-gun'-shi  (Yuki). 

The  Indians  of  Mendocino  County,  California,  particularly  the  Con- 
cows,  who  now  occupy  a  reservation  there,  use  the  white  inner  bark, 
preferably  gathered  in  spring,  in  making  baskets.  (V.  K.  Chesnut, 
1902.)  From  its  inner  bark  the  Indians  of  the  Pacific  slope  make 
baskets  so  closely  woven  as  to  hold  water.  (J.  T.  Rothrock,  1867.) 

Adiantum  pedatum.  Maidenhair  Fern. 

The  slender,  black*  or  dark-brown,  shining  stems,  after  splitting,  are  * 
used  by  the  Indians  of  Mendocino  County,  California,  in  the  orna- 


200  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

mentation  of  some  of  their  baskets,  particularly  those  worn  as  hats. 
(V.  K.  Chcsnut,  1902.)  The  Hupa  Indians  of  Humboldt  County,  Cali 
fornia,  and  other  nearby  tribes  use  the  steins  in  the  same  way.  The 
practice  extends  also  to  the  Snohomish  Indians  of  western  Washington 
(C.  M.  Buchanan,  letter)  and  to  the  Tlinkit  Indians  of  southern  Alaska. 
(G.  T.  Emmons,  letter). 

Ag-ave  deserti.  y)esert  A^aye 

Iii  the  coiled  basket  bowls  of  the  Coahuilla  Indians  of  southern 
California  the  cleaned  fiber  from  the  leaves  is  used  to  form  the  first 
few  turns  of  the  coil,  which  is  then  continued  with  grass  stems.  Evi 
dently  the  grass  is  not  sufficiently  flexible  to  make  these  first  turns 
without  breaking,  but  the  Agave  fiber  answers  the  purpose  admirably. 
(Cat.  Nos.  207580  and  207581,  U.S.N.M.)  Some  of  the  basket  hats  of 
the  Diegueno  Indians  of  San  Diego  County,  California,  are  woven  from 
cords  made  of  the  cleaned  and  twisted  fiber,  and  from  their  great 
strength  must  be  almost  indestructible  by  any  ordinary  wear  (Cat 
No.  19751,  U.S.N.M.) 

Alnus  oreg-ana.  Red  U(ler 

Among  the  Hupa  Indians  of  northern  California  the  roots  are  some 
times  used  as  weft  at  the  beginning  of  a  basket  and  in  a  round  between 
the  bottom  and  the  sides  (P.  E.  Goddard,  notes). 

Alnus  rhombifolia.  White  Alder. 

Various  species  of  alder  have  been  used  by  the  American  aborigines 
to  produce  an  orange  or  red-brown  dye,  but  the  only  authenticated 
use  of  alder  in  dyeing  basket  materials  seems  to  be  that  of  Alnus 
rhorrMfolia  among  the  Hupa,  Yuki,  and  other  Indians  of  northern 
California.  The  dye  is  obtained  from  the  bark  by  infusion  in  water, 
or  sometimes  the  bark  is  chewed  and  the  material  to  be  dyed  is  drawn 
through  the  mouth. 

Amaranthus  palmeri.  Amaranth. 

Kf/-mo  (Moki). 

This  is  the  source  of  a  pink  to  purple  dye  used  in  the  coiled  and  wicker 
plaques  of  the  Moki  Indians  of  northern  Arizona.  (W.  Hough, 
notes.)  The  identification  is  by  C.  E.  Millspaugh. 

Amelanchier  alnifolia.  Sarvieeberry. 

I-ta'-ge1  (Apache). 
Chak  (Klamath). 

The  small,  straight,  peeled  branches  of  this  and  other  species  of 
Amelanchier  are  used  by  the  Apaches  of  the  White  Mountain  Indian 
Reservation,  Arizona,  to  form  the  uprights  in  their  large  carrying- 
baskets,  a  use  for  which  the  very  tough  wood  is  well  adapted.  The 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  201 

Klamath  Indians  of  Oregon  often  weave  a  stout  branch,  peeled  or  not 
peeled,  into  the  rims  of  their  large  coarse  baskets  to  stiffen  and 
strengthen  them. 

Apocynum  cannabinum.  Indian  Hemp. 

The  well-known  Indian  hemp,  including  a  number  of  plant  forms 
once  referred  to  Apocynwu  cannabinum,  but  now  treated  as  belong 
ing  to  several  species,  occurs  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  coast  and 
was  and  still  is  widely  used  by  the  aborigines  in  the  making  of  man}T 
kinds  of  cordage  articles.  It  is  commonly  cited  as  an  Indian  basket 
material,  and  although  it  has  not  been  possible  to  secure  a  verifiable 
record  of  its  use  in  a  basket,  it  is  altogether  probable  that  some  of 
the  strings  and  cords  so  frequently  used  in  beginning  a  basket,  or  in 
making  the  carrying  loops,  are  twisted  from  the  inner  bark  of  this 
plant.  (See  illustration  in  Chesnut's  Plants  used  by  the  Indians  of 
Mendocino  County,  Calif  ornia.a) 

Artemisia  ludoviciana.  Wormwood. 

Hang-al  (Coahuilla). 

In  that  portion  of  the  Colorado  Desert  of  California  known  as  the 
Cabeson  Valley  the  Coahuilla  Indians  make  from  the  stems  of  this 
plant  the  large  granary  baskets  in  which  they  store  seeds  and  other 
dried  vegetable  foods.  (D.  P.  Barrows,  1900.)  The  plant  was  identi 
fied  by  W.  L.  Jepson. 

Arundinaria  tecta.  Cane. 

The  split  outer  portion  of  the  stems  of  the  cane  was  the  favorite 
basket  material  of  the  Southern  Indians,  including  the  Choctaws, 
Chickasaws,  Cherokees,  Creeks,  Seminoles,  and  other  tribes  from 
Texas  and  Arkansas  to  the  Carolinas,  and  it  is  still  in  use  among  the 
remnants  of  these  peoples.  The  handsome  baskets  of  the  Chetimacha 
and  Attakapa  Indians  of  Louisiana  are  made  from  split  cane. 

Berberis  nervosa.  Oregon  Grape. 

Among  the  Hupa  Indians  of  northern  California  a  yellow  dye  is 
obtained  by  steeping  the  twigs  and  bark  of  one  of  the  species  of 
evergreen  barberry,  or  Oregon  grape.  (Mary  H.  Manning,  letter.) 
Leaves  of  squaw  grass  (Xerophyllwn  tenax)  dyed  with  this  are  some 
times  used  in  the  yellow  patterns  occasionally  seen  in  the  Hupa  hat 
baskets.  The  same  material  and  dye  are  used  in  the  huckleberry 
baskets  of  the  Snohomish  (C.  M.  Buchanan,  letter)  and  Klikitat 
Indians  of  western  Washington.  The  particular  species  used  has  been 
definitely  identified  in  one  instance  as  Berberis  nervosa.  Another 
species,  I>.  aquifoliuni^  is  undoubtedly  used  also. 

«  U.  8.  National  Herbarium,  VII,  p.  379,  fig.  75. 


202  KEPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 

Betula  populifolia.  White  Birch. 

The  soft  wood  of  this  tree  is  still  employed  in  the  northeastern 
United  States  and  Canada  by  the  descendants  of  the  Algonkin  and 
Iroquois  in  the  making  of  baskets.  (V.  Havard,  1890.)  These  bas 
kets  are  thoroughly  modernized  and  doubtless  give  little  idea  of  the 
aboriginal  methods  of  using  this  material. 

Bromus  sitchensis.  Bromegrass. 

The  split  stems  are  sometimes  used  by  the  Tlinkit  Indians  of  the 
south  Alaskan  coast  as  an  overlaying  material  for  the  white  patterns 
of  spruce-root  baskets.  (G.  T.  Emmons,  notes.) 

Butneria  occidentalis.  Calycanthus. 

Sai  ka-lex  (Porno). 

Both  the  wood  and  the  bark  from  young  shoots  of  this  shrub  are 
used  in  basketry  by  the  Indians  of  Mendocino  County,  California. 
(V.  K.  Chesnut,  1902.) 

Calamagrostis  langsdorffii.  Bluejoint. 

Chu'-kan  shark  ki-kark-tush'  (Tlinkit). 

The  split  stem  is  sometimes  used  for  overlaying  material  in  the 
spruce-root  baskets  of  the  Tlinkit  Indians  of  the  south  Alaskan  coast. 
(G.  T.  Emmons,  notes.) 

Car  ex  barbarae.  Sedge. 

Ka-huir/  (Porno). 

The  long,  tough,  woody,  interior  portion  of  the  rootstocks  of  this 
sedge  is  used  to  form  the  white  sewing  strands  in  the  fine  coiled  bas 
kets  of  the  Porno  Indians  of  northern  California.  Among  the  neigh 
boring  Wailakis  the  roots  of  another  unidentified  species  of  Carex  are 
used  in  the  same  way,  and  the  leaves  are  made  into  hats  and  crude, 
somewhat  flexible  baskets.  (V.  K.  Chesnut,  1902.) 

Carthamus  tinctorius.  False  Saffron. 

A-sap-zran'-I  (Moki,  from  the  Spanish). 

This  plant,  introduced  by  the  Spanish,  produces  a  bright  yellow 
dye,  used  in  basketry  by  the  Moki  Indians  of  northern  Arizona. 
(W.  Hough,  notes;  Cat.  Nos.  11724  and  11726,  U.S.N.M.) 

Ceanothus  integer rimus.  California  Lilac. 

Hi'-bi  (Coneow). 

The  long,  flexible  shoots  are  used  in  basket  making  by  the  Concows 
of  northern  California.  (V.  K.  Chesnut,  1902.) 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  203 

Cercis  occidentalis.  Redbud. 

Che-e  (Yuki). 

The  wood  of  the  branches,  with  or  without  the  bark,  is  used  in  bas 
ketry  by  many  California  tribes,  notably  by  the  Round  Valley  Indians 
of  northern  California.  (Y.  K.  Chesnut,  1902).  Among  the  Nishinam 
Indians  of  Bear  Valley,  Placer  County,  the  willow  foundations  in  cer 
tain  coiled  baskets  are  sewed  together  with  a  thread  of  redbud  wood. 
(Stephen  Powers,  1877.)  The  dark  red  patterns  in  the  baskets  of  the 
Pit  River  Indians  and  the  Tulare  Indians  are  formed  from  split 
branches  with  the  bark  left  on. 

Ceropteris  triang-ularis.  Goldenback. 

This  little  fern,  known  usually  as  Gymnoyramma  triangularis,  has  a 
black  stipe  or  stem  which  is  sometimes  used  by  the  Round  Valley 
Indians  (V.  K.  Chesnut,  1902)  and  the  Hupa  Indians  (Mary  H.  Man 
ning,  letter)  of  northern  California  as  a  substitute  for  maidenhair 
stems,  when  these  are  not  available,  in  black  basket  patterns. 

Chrysothamnus  laricinus.  Rabbitbrush. 

Ma'-i-bi  (Moki). 

The  branches  are  sometimes  used  by  the  Moki  Indians  of  northeastern 
Arizona  for  the  weft  of  their  finer  wicker  plaques.  (W.  Hough,  notes.) 

Chrysothamnus  moquianus.  Rabbitbrush. 

Ha'-no  shi/-va-pi  (Moki). 

The  twigs  are  used  at  Oraibi,  Arizona,  to  form  the  weft  in  the 
wicker  plaques  of  the  Moki  Indians.  (W.  Hough,  notes.)  The  identi 
fication  of  the  plant  (U.  S.  Nat.  Herb.  274057)  is  by  E.  L.  Greene, 
the  species  being  one  closely  related  to  the  widely  distributed  Chryso- 
tkamnus  [Bigelovid\  graveolens. 

Ginna  latifolia.  Wood  Reedgrass. 

Chu'-kan  shark  (Tlinkit). 

Among  the  grasses  employed  by  the  Tlinkit  Indians  of  the  south 
Alaskan  coast  for  the  white  patterns  in  their  spruce-root  baskets  this 
species  is  the  commonest.  The  part  used  is  the  stem,  from  which 
sections  are  split  to  be  applied  as  an  overlay  on  the  spruce-root  strands. 
(G.  T.  Emmons,  notes.) 

Cladium  xnariscus.  Cladium. 

From  the  root,  coiled  baskets  of  excellent  quality  are  made  by 
tribes  on  the  lower  Sierra  from  Fresno  River  to  Kern  River,  Califor 
nia.  (C.  Hart  Merriam,  1903.)  Identified  by  Miss  Alice  Eastwood. 

Corylus  californica.  Hazelnut. 

Ol  mam  (Yuki). 

The  shoots  of  the  hazelnut  are  used  by  many  of  the  Indian  tribes 
from  northern  California  to  Washington,  west  of  the  Cascade  Moun- 


204  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

tains,  in  the  making  of  baskets,   especially  as  radials  or   uprights. 
(Mary  H.   Manning,  letter.)     The  burden  basket,   baby  basketed 
salmon  plate  of  the  Hupas  are  made  entirely  of  the  shoots  of  hazelnut 
(P.  E.  Goddard,  notes.)     (See  Plate  4.) 

Covillea  tridentata.  Creosote  Bush. 

A  gum-lac  found  upon  the  branches  of  this  desert  bush  has  a  wide 
application  among  the  southwestern  Indians  as  a  cement  and  among 
the  Cocopas  of  northern  Lower  California  it  is  used  for  pitching 
baskets.  (E.  Palmer,  notes.)  The  gum,  which  occurs  in  conspicuous 
nodules  of  a  reddish  amber  color,  is  not  a  direct  exudation  from  the 
plant,  but  is  deposited  by  a  minute  scale  insect,  Carteria  larreae. 

Dasylirion  wheeleri.  Sotol 

The  leaves,  split  into  strands  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  wide  and 
the  coarse  marginal  teeth  removed,  are  used  among  the  Pima  Indians 
of  southern  Arizona    in  coarse  twilled  baskets.     (Cat.   No.   218027 
U.S.N.M.) 

Delphinium  scaposum.  Larkspur. 

Soro'-si  (Moki). 

The  flowers  are  the  source  of  a  light-blue  dye  used  by  the  Moki 
Indians  of  northern  Arizona  in  their  coiled  and  wicker  plaques.  (W. 
Hough,  notes.) 

Deschampsia  caespitosa.  Tufted  Hairgrass. 

Kiit-kiik-kli'-te  shark  (Tlinkit). 

This  is  one  of  the  grasses  the  split  stems  of  which  are  used  among 
the  Tlinkit  Indians  of  the  south  Alaskan  coast  to  form  the  white  pat 
terns  on  their  spruce-root  baskets.  (G.  T.  Emmons,  notes.) 


Dondia  suffrutescens. 


^  The  Coahuilla  Indians  of  the  Colorado  desert  in  southern  Califor 
nia,  blacken  the  stems  of  their  basketry  rush  (Juncus  acutus)  by  steep 
ing  them  for  several  hours  in  a  decoction  of  this  plant.  (E.  Palmer, 
1878.)  The  identification  of  the  species  is  by  W.  L.  Jepson. 


Elymus  mollis. 


The  split  stems  of  this  grass  are  sometimes  used  for  the  white  pat 
terns  in  the  spruce-root  baskets  of  the  Tlinkit  Indians  on  the  south 
Alaskan  coast.  This  material  is  employed  only  for  coarse  work,  and 
whe^n  other  grasses  better  adapted  for  the  purpose  are  riot  available. 
(G.  T.  Emmons,  notes.) 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  205 

Epicampes  rig-ens.  Epicampes. 

In  the  region  of  the  Mohave  and  Colorado  deserts  of  southeastern 
California  the  Panamint,  Coahuilla  (D.  P.  Barrows,  1900),  and 'other 
tribes  use  this  grass  for  the  packing  of  their  coiled  baskets.  The  part 
used,  at  least  in  the  better  baskets,  is  that  portion  of  the  stem  above 
the  uppermost  joint,  which  sometimes  reaches  a  length  of  45  centi 
meters  (18  inches). 

Equisetum  palustre.  Horsetail. 

Dabts  (Snohomish). 
Hinmun-i'  (Tlinkit). 

The  rootstocks  of  this  plant,  which  sometimes  reach  a  diameter  of 
1.5  centimeters  (f  inch)  and  a  length  of  20  centimeters  (8  inches)  "H> 
between  the  joints,  were  used  in  the  early  days,  though  rarely  now, 
in  the  patterns  on  spruce-root  Tlinkit  baskets  of  the  south  Alaskan 
coast.  Strips  are  split  from  the  surface  of  the  rootstock  and  used  as 
an  overlaying  material.  The  color  is  a  rich,  very  dark  purple,  which 
appears  as  a  black.  (G.  T  Emmons,  notes.)  A  similar  use  was  made 
of  the  plant,  in  their  cedar-root  baskets,  by  the  Snohomish  Indians, 
of  Puget  Sound,  Washington.  (C.  M.  Buchanan,  notes.) 

Equisetum  robustum.  Scouring  Rush. 

The  coal-black  surface  of  the  rootstock  is  sometimes  used  by  the 
Cowlitz  Indians  of  southwestern  Washington  as  a  substitute  for  the 
rootstock  of  Equisetum  palustre  in  the  black  overlay  patterns  on  cedar- 
root  baskets. 

Evernia  vulpina.  Wolf  Moss. 

Se'-ho-li  (Tlinkit). 
S wa/-u-sam  (Klamath ) . 

This  yellow  tree-lichen  was  widely  used  as  a  dye  by  the  Indians  of 
the  timbered  area  of  the  western  United  States.  The  Klamath  Indians 
of  Oregon,  as  well  as  the  Hupas  of  northern  California  (Mary  H. 
Manning,  letter),  use  this  dye  in  their  baskets,  the  coloring  matter 
being  extracted  by  boiling.  In  the  case  of  the  Hupas  the  dye  is 
applied  to  Xerophyllum  leaves,  but  the  Klamath s  use  it  only  for  the 
porcupine  quills  which  form  the  beautiful  canary  yellow  patterns  of 
their  twisted  tule  baskets.  The  Tlinkit  Indians  of  the  south  Alaskan 
coast  also  use  the  dye  in  their  spruce-root  baskets,  the  lichen  being 
secured  by  them  not  on  the  coast,  but  from  the  interior.  (G.  T. 
Emmons,  notes.)  (See  Plate  5.) 

Fraxinus  nigra.  Black  Ash. 

The  remnants  of  the  Six  Nations  in  New  York,  Penns}rlvania,  and 
adjacent  portions  of  Canada  make  extensive  use  of  ash,  presumably 
black  ash,  in  their  modern  splint-basket  industry.  (T.  Donaldson, 
1894.) 


206  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

Helianthus  petiolaris.  Sunflower. 

A-ka'-u-shi  (Moki). 

Thr  seeds  are  used  by  the  Moki  Indians  of  northern  Arizona  to  make 
a  blue  dye  for  use  in  both  coiled  and  wicker  plaques.  (W.  Hough, 
notes.)  The  color  produced  in  the  coiled  plaques,  on  sewing  material 
of  Yucca  ylauca,  is  of  a  dark,  almost  prussian-blue  shade,  when  the 
sewing  strands  are  applied  with  their  broken  inner  surface  outward, 
but  of  a  much  lighter  shade  when  the  epidermal  surface  is  outward. 
(Cat.  No.  128708,  U.S.N.M.) 

Hicoria  ovata.  Hickory. 

Jt'OTty-two**, 

The  wood  of  some  unidentified  species  of  hickory,  probably  Hicoria 
ovata,  is  employed  among  the  remnants  of  the  Six  Nations  in  New 
York,  Pennsylvania,  and  adjacent  portions  of  Canada  in  the  manufac 
ture  of  modern  splint  baskets.  (T.  Donaldson,  189-1.)  The  inner  bark 
of  a  hickory  is  used  by  the  North  Carolina  Cherokees  for  yellow  pat 
terns  in  their  baskets.  (Cat.  No.  03077,  U.S.N.M.) 

Hilariajamesii.  Galleta. 

Ta'-ka-shu  (Moki). 

The  stems  of  this  grass,  roughly  stripped  of  leaves  and  seeds,  are 
used  for  the  filling  in  of  the  coiled  plaques  of  the  Moki  Indians  of 
northern  Arizona.  (W.  Hough,  189S.)  In  the  first  few  turns  of  the 
spiral,  which  are  too  short  to  be  made  of  the  grass  stems,  the  packing 
is  of  shredded  leaves  of  Yucca  (jhmca.  (Cat.  No.  128-K57,  U.S.N.M.*) 

Juglans  nigra.  Black  Waimit. 

The  Cherokee  Indians  of  North  Carolina  use  the  split  inner  bark  to 
make  black  patterns  in  their  baskets.  (Cat.  No.  63077,  U.S.N.M.) 

Juncus  acutus.  Rush. 

The  Coahuilla  Indians  of  the  Colorado  Desert,  southern  California, 
use  the  stems  to  make  patterns  in  their  coiled  basket  bowls.  The 
material,  as  gathered  in  a  marsh  at  Palm  Springs,  is  immersed  for 
several  days  in  the  muddy  water  of  the  spring  to  render  it  flexible, 
and  is  then  dyed  a  dark  olivaceous  or  almost  black  color  with  the  juice 
of  a  sea  blite.  (E.  Palmer,  notes.)  (See  Dondla  suffrutescens.) 

Juncus  balticus.  Rush. 

Tsin-a'-u  (Klamath). 
Kloh-tso'-sfi  (Apache). 

The  stems  of  this  rush,  which  is  commonly  known  as  wire  grass, 
are  often  used  by  Indian  children  to  make  small  baskets.  The  prac 
tice  has  been  noted  among  the  Klamaths  of  Oregon  and  the  White 
Mountain  Apaches  of  the  Arizona  plateau. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  207 

Juncus  effusus.  Rush. 

Lal'-um  (Yuki). 

The  stems  of  this  rush,  or  wire  grass,  are  used  amond  the  Round 
Valley  Indians  of  Mendocino  County,  California,  to  make  temporary 
baskets,  particularly  in  teaching  the  Indian  girls  the  art  of  basketry. 
(V.  K.  Chesnut,  1902.) 

Juncus  textilis.  Basket  Rush. 

The  Luiseno  Indians  of  southern  California  use  the  split  stems  of 
this  rush  as  the  sewing  material  of  their  coiled  baskets.  (C.  Hart  Mer- 
riani,  notes.)  The  varying  natural  colors  of  the  stem  at  different 
heights  produce  a  very  attractive  effect. 

Libocedrus  decurrens.  Post  Cedar. 

Wu'-lu-ansh  (Klamath). 

The  split  wood  of  this  tree  is  occasionally  woven  into  rough  V-shaped 
pack  baskets  by  the  Klamath  Indians  of  Oregon. 

Lonicera  interrupta.  Honeysuckle. 

Hai-wat7  (Yuki). 

The  long  flexible  stems  are  used  to  a  slight  extent  among  the  Round 
Valley  Indians  of  California  in  the  coiled  a one-stick"  baskets,  in 
which  the  foundation  consists  of  a  single  stem.  (V.  K.  Chesnut,  1902, 
and  notes.) 

Martynia  louisiana.  Devil  Horns. 

Ta-g'at'-S  (Apache). 

This  plant,  which  is  often  known  in  books  as  the  unicorn  plant,  has  a 
large  green  pod  with  a  slender  terminal  projection.  At  maturity  the 
green  outer  layer  becomes  dry  and  falls  off,  the  remaining  interior 
portion  of  the  projection  splitting  into  two  parts  or  horns  which  are 
exceedingly  tough  and  black,  and  sometimes  reach  a  length  of  35 
centimeters  (13  inches).  Moistened  and  split  they  are  used  extensively 
to  make  black  patterns  in  the  baskets  of  various  Indian  tribes,  notably 
the  Apaches,  in  the  desert  region  of  Arizona,  southern  Nevada,  and 
southeastern  California. 

Panicularia  nervata.  Manna  Grass. 

Among  the  Tlinkit  Indians  of  the  south  Alaskan  coast,  strips  split 
from  the  internodes  of  this  grass  are  sometimes  used  as  an  overlay  for 
the  patterns  in  spruce-root  baskets,  either  white  or  variously  dyed. 
(G.  T.  Emmons,  notes.) 

Parosela  emoryi.  Parosela. 

The  Coahuilla  Indians,  of  the  Colorado  Desert,  in  southeastern  Cal 
ifornia,  give  a  yellowish-brown  color  to  the  rush  (Juncus  acutus)  they 
use  in  basket  making  by  steeping  it  in  water  with  the  branches  of  this 
plant.  (E.  Palmer,  1878.) 


208  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

Ph.iladelph.us  gordonianus.  Svringa. 

Han7-]!  (Yuki). 

The  pithy  stems  of  this  shrub,  which  is  locally  known  as  arrowwood, 
are  employed  by  the  Indians  of  Mendocino  County,  California,  in  the 
manufacture  of  baskets  for  carrying-  babies,  a  use  to  which  the  stems, 
on  account  of  their  lightness,  are  well  adapted.  (V.  K.  Chesnut,  1902.) 

Phragmites  phragmites.  Reed 

Tkap  (Klamath). 

The  white  patterns  in  the  twisted-tulo  baskets  of  the  Klamath  and 
Modoc  Indians  of  Oregon  are  made  from  this  reed.  The  part  used  is 
the  shining-  surface  covering  of  the  stem,  taken  from  less  thrifty 
plants,  particularly  those  which  have  produced  no  flower  cluster. 

Plate  6  is  a  twined  gambling  tray  of  the  Klamath  Indians  living  on 
the  head  waters  of  Klamath  River,  Oregon.  The  warp  is  of  twined 
tule  stems,  the  body  of  the  weft  is  of  the  same  material,  the  overlay 
ing  in  white  is  with  split  pieces  from  the  stem  of  the  reed.  The  black 
is  twisted  tule  dyed  in  mud  springs,  the  yellow  borders  of  the  trefoil 
are  in  porcupine  quills  d}^ed  with  wolf  moss. 

Design  unknown;  the  projections  on  the  large  ornaments  are  called 
arrowheads.  Collection  of  Frederick  V.  Coville. 

Picea  sitchensis.  Sitka  Spruce. 

Sit  (Tliiikit). 

The  roots  of  this  tree,  boiled  and  split,  are  the  basis  material  of  the 
baskets  manufactured  by  the  Tlinkit  Indians  of  Yakutat  Bay,  Alaska. 
(F.  Funston,  1896.)  The  same  use  prevails  among  the  Tlinkits  of  the 
Alexander  Archipelago,  notably  those  of  Sitka,  Juneau,  and  Douglas. 
The  Indians  of  Neah  Bay,  Washington,  and  doubtless  other  tribes 
also,  use  the  split  roots  for  their  coarse  burden  baskets.  (See  Plate  7.) 

Pinus  edulis.  Ari/ona  Nut  Pine. 

0-bi'  (Apache). 

The  Apaches  of  the  White  Mountain  district,  Arizona,  use  the  resin 
of  this  tree,  often  called  pinyon,  as  a  pitching  material  for  their  water 
baskets. 

Pinus  laxnbertiana.  Sugar  Pine. 

Slender  strands  split  from  the  root  of  the  sugar  pine,  woven  about 
uprights  of  California  hazel,  are  the  foundation  material  of  the  acorn- 
soup  baskets  of  the  Hupa  Indians,  northern  California.  To  make 
them  split  more  easily  the  roots  are  steamed  by  burying  them  in  sand 
and  building  a  fire  over  them.  (Mary  H.  Manning,  letter.) 

Pinus  monophylla.  Nevada  Nut  Pine. 

The  Panamint  Indians  of  southeastern  California  use  the  pitch  of 
this  tree  to  make  their  water  baskets  impervious  to  water. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  209 

Pinus  ponderosa.  Yellow  Pine. 

The  split  wood  of  the  root  is  one  of  the  materials  used  by  the  Hupa 
Indians  of  northwestern  California  for  the  principal  part  of  the  weft 
in  closely- woven  baskets.  (P.  E.  Goddard,  notes.) 

Pinus  sabiniana.  Digger  Pine. 

PoF-kum  ol  (Yuki). 

The  Little  LakeAIndians  of  Mendocino  County,  California,  use  the 
split  roots  to  make  their  large  V  -shaped  baskets  for  carrying  acorns. 
The  root  is  warmed  in  hot  damp  ashes,  and  the  strands  are  split  off 
before  cooling.  (V.  K.  Chesnut,  1902.)  A  similar  use  extends  north 
ward  among  the  Hupa  and  other  California  coast  Indians  as  far  as 
Klamath  River.  (V.  Havard,  1890.) 

Populus  trichocarpa.  Balm  of  Gilead. 

In  northwestern  California  the  Hupa  Indians  sometimes  used  the 
root  to  fasten  the  ribs  of  their  baskets  at  the  beginning  and  to  form  a 
round  at  the  base  of  the  sides  of  the  basket.  (P.  E.  Goddard,  notes.) 

Pseudotsuga  mucronata.  Red  Fir. 

According  to  the  authority  of  J.  W.  Hudson,  the  Porno  Indians 
of  Mendocino  County,  California,  use  the  roots  of  this  tree  in  the  man 
ufacture  of  some  of  their  fine  baskets. 

Pteridium  aquilinum.  Bracken. 

Bis  (Calpella). 

A  form  of  the  common  bracken  occurring  in  the  western  United 
States  is  occasionally  employed  as  a  basket  material  among  the  Indians 
of  Mendocino  County,  California.  (V.  K.  Chesnut,  1902.)  The  part 
used  is  the  two  flat  strips  of  black  hard-celled  tissue  in  the  rootstock. 
Quercus  alba.  White  Oak. 

Splints  from  the  wood  of  a  white  oak,  presumably  this  species,  are 
still  used  by  the  Cherokee  Indians  of  North  Carolina  as  the  material 
for  certain  of  their  baskets.  (Cat,  No.  63073,  U.S.N.M.) 

Quercus  lobata.  California  White  Oak. 

The  Concow  Indians  of  Mendocino  County,  California,  sometimes 
blacken  their  basket  strands  of  redbud  ( Cercis  occidentalis)  on  which 
the  bark  is  still  attached,  by  soaking  them  in  water  containing  the  bark 
of  this  oak  and  scraps  of  rusty  iron.  (V.  K.  Chesnut,  1902.) 

Rims  diversiloba.  Poison  Oak. 

Kats'-te  (Wailaki). 
Ma-tyu/-ya//-ho  (Porno). 

The  slender  stems  are  occasionally  used  for  horizontal  withes  in 
some  of  the  baskets  of  the  Mendocino  County  Indians  of  California 
NAT  MUS  1902 14 


EEPOET    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

(V.  K.  Chesnut,  1902),  while  the  juice,  which  turns  black  rapidly  on 
exposure  to  air,  is  the  source,  according-  to  J.  W.  Hudson,  of  a 
dye  sometimes  used  to  stain  the  purest  black  strands  of  the  Porno 
basketry. 

Bhus  trilobata.  Threelcaf  Sumac. 

Si'-i-bi  (Moki). 
CMl-chm  (Navaho). 
Ts&h'  kanM  (Apache). 

Among  the  desert  Indians  the  slender  branches  of  this  bush  are 
used  extensively,  perhaps  more  extensively  than  any  other  plant 
except  willow,  in  the  manufacture  of  their  baskets.  For  warp  the 
peeled  branches  are  used.  For  weft  and  for  the  sewing  material  of 
coiled  baskets  the  branch  is  usually  split  into  three  strips  and  the  bark 
and  brittle  tissue  next  the  pith  removed,  leaving  a  flat  tough  strand. 
The  use  of  the  threeleaf  sumac  has  been  noted  among  the  Apache, 
Panamint,  Paiute,  Navaho  (W.  Matthews,  1886),  Moki  (W.  Hough' 
1898),  and  Coahuilla  (D.  P.  Barrows,  1900).  (See  Plate  8.) 

Salix-  Willow. 

Brancnes  from  various  undetermined  species  of  willow  were  widely 
used  among  the  western  Indians,  probably  more  generally  than  any 
other  plant,  particularly  in  the  various  forms  of  coarser  baskets. 
Among  the  tribes  in  which  travelers  have  recorded  the  manufacture 
of  willow  baskets,  in  addition  to  those  given  below  under  the  identified 
species  of  willow,  are  the  Mission,  Mohave,  Coahuilla,  Cocopa,  Yuma, 
and  Coconino  Indians  of  Arizona  and  southern  California;  the  Zuni 
of  New  Mexico;  the  Hupa,  Yurok,  Modoc,  Chimariko,  Gualala,  Nishi- 
nam,  and  Yokut  of  northern  and  middle  California,  and  the  Tinne 
of  the  Yukon  Valley,  Alaska.  The  split  roots  of  willow  are  sometimes 
used  for  the  weft  in  beginning  the  hat  baskets  of  the  Hupa  Indians. 
(P.  E.  Goddard,  notes.) 

Salix  argophylla.  Willow. 

Bam  ka-le7  (Porno). 

The  Porno  Indians  near  Ukiah,  California,  consider  this  their  best 
willow  for  the  manufacture  of  coarse  baskets.  (V.  K.  Chesnut,  1902.) 

Salix  lasiaudra.  Willow. 

A  willow,  which  is  referable  to  Salix  lasiandra  in  its  broad  sense,  is 
used  to  some  extent  by  the  Panamint  Indians  of  Inyo  County,  Cali 
fornia,  in  their  twined  baskets,  and  by  the  Apaches  of  the  White 
Mountain  Reservation,  Arizona. 

Sambucus  mexicana.  J'Mer. 

The  Coahuilla  Indians  of  San  Diego  County,  California,  give  a  deep 
black  color  to  strands  of  the  threeleaf  sumac,  used  as  a  sewing  mate- 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  211 

rial  of  their  coiled  baskets,  by  soaking  them  for  about  a  week  in  an 
infusion  of  the  berry  stems  of  this  elder.     (D.  P.  Barrows,  1900.)     . 

Savastana  odorata.  Holygrass. 

The  Indians  of  the  northeastern  United  States  and  adjacent  parts  of 
Canada,  such  as  the  Penobscots  of  Maine  (V.  Havard,  1890)  and  the 
Abenakis  of  Ontario  (Cat.  No.  206394,  U.S.N.M.),  use  the  long,  sweet- 
scented  leaves  of  this  grass  in  some  of  their  baskets. 

Scirpus  lacustris.  Tule. 

Ma'-i  (Klamath). 

The  principal  basket  material  of  the  Klamath  and  Modoc  Indians  of 
Oregon  is  the  tule,  a  plant  widely  used  by  the  tribes  of  the  Pacific 
coast  States  in  the  manufacture  of  mats.  Narrow  strips  from  the 
surface  of  the  stem  are  twisted  into  long  threads  and  these  used  for 
their  finer  twined  baskets,  giving  a  great  variety  of  green  and  brown 
shades  or,  when  dyed,  a  black.  For  coarser  baskets  whole  or  split 
stems  are  commonly  employed,  without  twisting.  The  very  slender 
roots  of  the  tule,  which  occur  in  great  abundance  on  the  stout  root- 
stocks,  are  used,  without  any  other  preparation  than  drying,  to  make 
patterns  of  a  maroon  color  in  the  twisted  tule  baskets.  (See  Plate  9.) 

Scirpus  maritimus.  Bulrush. 

Tsu-lsh'  (Porno). 

The  Porno  Indians  of  California  use  for  the  brown  and  black  patterns 
of  their  fine  coiled  baskets  a  fiber  extracted  from  the  rootstock  of 
this  bulrush.  Structurally  the  fiber  is  the  same  as  that  described 
under  Carex  barbarae.  The  identification  is  by  Miss  Alice  Eastwood. 

Smilax  calif  or  nica.  Greenbriar. 

The  long  and  exceedingly  strong  stems,  brought  from  the  watershed 
of  the  Sacramento  River,  are  sometimes  employed  by  the  Indians  of 
Mendocino  County,  California,  in  their  basketry.  (V.  K.  Chesnut, 
1902.) 

co  AsOP3/5 

Thelesperma  gracile.  Thelesperma. 

O-ha'-u-shi  (Moki). 

A  decoction  of  the  whole  plant  was  formerly  used  to  give  a  red- 
brown  color  to  the  stems  of  rabbitbrush  ( Chrysothamnus  moquianus) 
for  the  patterns  in  the  wicker  plaques  of  the  Moki  Indians  of  northern 
Arizona.  (W.  Hough,  1898;  Cat.  No.  128708,  U.S.N.M.) 

Thuja  plicata.  Giant  Cedar. 

The  split  roots  of  this  tree  are  the  common  sewing  material  for  the 
strong,  water  tight  huckleberry  baskets  of  certain  tribes  of  the  North 
west  Coast,  from  northern  Oregon  to  British  America,  including  the 


KEPOKT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

Klikitat,  Cowlitz,  Puyallup,  Tulalip,  Snoqualmie,  Skagit,  and  Fraser 
Elver  Indians.  The  Indians  of  Neah  Bay,  Washington,  and  of  Van 
couver  Island,  British  Columbia,  use  the  split  brown  inner  bark  as  the 
warp  of  their  finely  woven  but  artificially  dyed  flexible  baskets  The 
Nisqualli  Indians  of  Puget  Sound,  and  doubtless  many  other  tribes  of 
the  Northwest  coast,  employ  the  same  material  in  coarser  strands  in 
making  rough  burden  baskets,  frequently  in  conjunction  with  a  warp 
of  split  branches  from  the  same  tree.  (See  Plate  10.) 

Tsug-a  mertensiana.  PI    --k  H 

The  Indians  of  Neah  Bay,  Washington,  sometimes  use  split  hemlock 
roots  in  their  coarse  openwork  quadrangular  V-shaped  burden  baskets. 
The  tree  was  described  by  a  Neah  Bay  Indian  as  having  cones  2J  inches 
long,  in  which  case  the  species  would  be  the  black  hemlock  instead  of 
the  Western  hemlock  (Tmga  heterophylla),  which  is  the  commoner 
of  the  two  at  low  elevations  in  that  vicinity. 


Tumion  californicum.  California  Nutmeg. 

K'o'-bi  (Porno). 

The  split  roots  of  this  tree  are  sometimes  used  by  the  Porno  Indians 
of  Mendocino  County,  California,  in  the  manufacture  of  their  finer 
baskets.  (V.  K.  Chesnut,  1902.) 

Typhalatifolia. 

Pox-pas  ( Klamath ) . 

Twisted  strands  made  of  slender  ribbons  split  from  the  sheathed 
portions  of  the  leaves  are  used  by  the  Klamath  Indians  of  Oregon  in 
their  smaller  flexible  baskets,  either  to  form  the  body  of  the  basket  or 
to  make  an  ornamental  band.  The  color  is  a  lusterless,  slightly  ashy 
white. 

Ulmus  americana. 

it,  1m. 

The  Sioux  Indians  of  the  northern  plains  region  used  the  inner  bark 
of  the  elm  to  make  a  coarse  basket.  (V.  Havard,  1890.) 

Vaccinium  mexnbranaceum.  Blueberry 

Ka-na-ta'  (Tlinkit). 

The  juice  of  some  species  of  blueberry,  probably  Vaceinium  mem- 
Iranaceum,  is  used  as  a  purple  dye  in  spruce-root  baskets  by  the  Tlinkit 
Indians  of  the  south  Alaskan  coast.  (G.  T.  Emmons,  notes.) 

Vitis  californica.  ( , 

Shi-fn'  (Porno). 

Among  the  Ilupa  Indians  of  northern  California  the  root  is  some 
times  used  to  fasten  the  ribs  of  a  basket  at  its  beginning,  and  to  make 
a  round  at  the  outer  edge  of  the  basket's  Bottom,  while  in  fine  hats 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  213 

grape  root  sometimes  makes  up  the  whole  weft.  (P.  E.  Goddard,  notes.) 
Portions  of  the  woody  stem  are  used  by  the  Pomos  of  Mendocino 
County,  California,  as  a  sewing  strand  for  attaching  the  rims  to  their 
pack  baskets.  The  grape  strands  completely  cover  the  stout  withe  that 
forms  the  basis  for  the  rim,  making  it  more  durable  and  at  the  same 
time  thickening  it  so  as  to  give  a  good  means  of  firmly  grasping  the 
basket.  (V.  K.  Chesnut,  1902,  and  notes.) 

Woodwardia  spinulosa.  Giant  Chain  Fern. 

The  Hupa  Indians  of  northern  California  use  a  portion  of  this  fern, 
either  white  or  dyed  orange  brown  with  alder  bark,  in  the  patterns  of 
their  hat  baskets.  (Mary  H.  Manning,  letter).  The  parts  employed 
are  two  slender  flat  strands,  very  flexible  and  leathery  when  moist, 
which  are  extracted  from  the  stalk  of  the  frond. 

Xerophyllum  tenax.  Xerophyllum. 

The  long,  tough,  minutely  serrated,  grass-like,  lustrous  leaves  of  this 
plant,  often  called  squawgrass,  are  very  commonly  used  by  the  Indians 
of  the  Northwest  Coast  as  an  overlaying  material  to  make  the  white 
patterns  of  their  baskets.  Occasionally  it  is  dyed.  The  base  of  the 
leaf  for  an  inch  or  more  often  has  a  natural  faint  purple  color  which 
is  used  to  good  effect.  The  use  of  the  material  extends  from  the  Pit 
River,  Shasta,  and  Hupa  Indians,  in  northern  California,  northward 
through  most  of  the  tribes  west  of  the  Cascade  Range  to  the  Neah 
Bay  and  Vancouver  Island  Indians  of  the  Straits  of  Fuca.  These  last 
two  use  Xerophyllum  leaves,  cut  to  a  uniform  width  by  a  gauged 
knife-edge,  as  the  weft  of  their  gaudily  dyed  flexible  baskets. 

Yucca  arborescens.  Tree  Yucca. 

The  slender  roots  are  sometimes  used  for  red  figures  in  baskets  of 
the  Panamint  Indians  of  Inyo  County,  California. 

Yucca  arkansana.  Yucca. 

The  leaves  are  used  in  the  basketry  of  the  Kaiowa  Indians  of  Okla 
homa.  (J.  Mooney,  notes.) 

Yucca  baccata.  Banana  Yucca. 

The  Mescalero  Apaches  of  southern  New  Mexico  and  adjacent  parts 
of  Texas,  in  the  region  between  the  Rio  Grande  and  Pecos  rivers,  use 
the  split  leaves  of  this  plant  for  the  main  portion  of  their  baskets,  and 
its  roots  for  the  red  patterns  (Cat.  Nos.  204646  to  204653,  U.S.N.M.). 
It  is  probable,  I  am  informed  by  Mr.  Vernon  Bailey,  that  they  use 
also  in  the  same  way  the  leaves  and  roots  of  Yucca  macrocarpa,  an 
arborescent  species  growing  at  lower  elevations  in  the  same  region. 


214  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 

Yucca  filamentosa.  Silkgrass. 

The  leaves  of  this  plant  were  formerly  in  use  among  the  Indians  of 
North  Carolina  as  a  basket  material.  (J.  Lawton,  1714.) 

Yucca  g-lauca.  Plains  Yucca. 

Mo'-hu  (Moki). 

This  plant  is  used  in  the  basketry  of  the  Moki  Indians  (W.  Hough, 
1902)  of  northern  Arizona.  In  some  of  the  coarser  twilled  baskets 
the  warp  and  weft  are  made  up  of  the  narrow  unsplit  leaves  thinned 
by  the  removal  of  a  strip  from  the  back.  (Cat,  No.  218251,  U.S.N.M.) 
In  the  coiled  plaques  the  sewing  material  consists  of  narrow  strips  split 
from  the  leaves.  The  outer  surface  of  the  leaves  gives  various  shades 
of  green  and  greenish  yellow  or,  in  the  case  of  the  young  leaves, 
white,  or  they  are  dyed  in  several  colors.  The  dyed  strips  are  often 
applied  with  the  inner,  broken  surface  outward.  This  surface  takes 
the  dye  more  readily  and  gives  a  deeper  shade.  For  the  use  of  the 
shredded  leaves  as  a  packing  material  in  the  first  few  turns  of  the 
spiral,  see  Ililariajamesii. 

III.  BASKET  MAKING 

The  sallow  knows  the  basket  maker's  thumb.— EMERSON. 

Under  the  head  of  basket  making  are  included  all  the  activities 
involved  in  and  fostered  by  construction,  namely: 

1 .  Harvesting  materials.  — Th is  e m b races  i n timate  acq uai n ta n ce  with 
the  places  where  just  the  right  substances  abound,  knowledge  of  the 
times  when  each  element  is  ripe,  methods  of  growing,  harvesting, 
and  conveying  involved,  as  well  as  the  tools  and  apparatus  used  in 
gathering.     In  their  rough  state  much  of  the  materials   would  be  as 
unfit  for  the  use  as  quarry  clay  would  be  for  the  potter  or  crude  ore 
for  the  metallurgist. 

2.  Preparing  materials. — Frequently  the  raw  materials  are  stored 
away  at  the  time  of  harvesting  until  required  for  manufacture.     Nature 
makes  the  rules  for  gathering  in  her  own  good  time.     But  this  might 
be  the  busy  season,  whereas  this  art  may  go  on   in  different  seasons. 
When  the  time  comes  for  their  use  special   manipulations  are  neces 
sary,  such  as  peeling,  splitting,  making  splints,  yarning  or  twisting, 
twining,  braiding,  soaking,  gauging,  coloring.     These  should  each  be 
noted  carefully  and  described  for  the  several  basket  areas. 

3.  Processes  of  manufacture. — The  materials  being  ready,  the  maker 
seats  herself  in  the  midst  and  begins  the  technical  operations  that 
should  be  minutely  watched,  and  photographed,  if  possible.     Collec 
tions  should  also  be  made  of  tools,  apparatus,  and  patterns. 

Each  of  these  will  be  examined  with  minute  care,  especially  the 
third.  If  this  art  is  to  be  imitated  and  become  a  stimulus  in  technical 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  215 

instruction  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  the  substances  be  cor 
rectly  known,  that  the  manipulations  of  material  be  familiar,  and, 
above  all,  that  the  course  of  each  element  in  the  warp  and  weft,  the 
foundation,  and  sewing  be  understood.  Care  has  been  taken  to  draw 
correctly  the  figures  used  in  illustration.  They  are  all  in  the  basketry 
of  the  Indians,  and,  more  than  that,  they  are  the  beginnings  of  more 
refined  processes  and  structures. 

HARVESTING  MATERIALS 

Since  the  materials  used  in  basketry  are  derived  from  different  parts 
of  a  great  variety  of  plants,  the  gathering  of  them  involves  many 
industries.  The  harvesting  of  basket  material  is  no  exception  to  the 
rule  that  every  human  activity  begins  with  a  natural  process  slightly 
modified.  The  birds  are  in  a  sense  the  original  basket  makers,  and  it 
is  known  that  some  very  expert  Indian  tribes  take  the  grasses  and  the 
stems  of  plants  as  they  find  them.  They  know  nothing  of  drying  or 


FIG.  1. 


Klamath  Indians. 
Cat.  No.  24109,  U.S.N.M.    Collected  by  L.  S.  Dyar. 


manipulating.  Improvement  grows  out  of  study  into  the  nature  of 
substances,  until  with  some  tribes  the  obtaining  of  raw  materials 
involves  quite  as  much  sagacity,  toil,  and  travel  as  the  making  of  the 
basket. 

For  procuring  the  roots,  the  apparatus  of  digging  is  necessary. 
To  be  sure,  the  hand  was  the  first  hoe  and  the  strong  arm  draws  the 
root  from  its  hiding  place,  but  our  Indians  had  gotten  beyond  that. 
The  northern  Indians,  especially  those  of  the  Columbia  River  in  west 
ern  Canada,  use  quite  elaborate  forms  of  this  device.  It  is  wonderful 
to  think  of  the  sagacity  developed  in  savage  minds  by  the  quest  for 
underground  substances  and  the  proper  discrimination  of  the  places 


216  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

where  the  best  examples  abound.  From  the  farthest  north,  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Point  Barrow  to  the  southern  portions  of  South 
America,  roots  form  substantial  materials  in  basket  making,  both 
twined  and  coiled.  It  is  not  enough  to  s&y  simply  that  roots  of  plants 
were  the  materials  of  the  baskets,  but  it  is  well  known  that  the  savage 
women  knew  in  each  section  what  plant  furnished  the  toughest  and 
most  pliable  roots,  the  localities  in  which  this  kind  of  root  reached 
its  best,  the  plants  that  yielded  brown,  red,  and  black  colored  splints, 
which  produced  unrivaled  effects,  though  the  portion  above  ground 
gave  no  sign  of  the  treasures  held  or  the  time  of  year  when  it  was 
proper  to  obtain  these  substances,  and  the  processes  by  which  they 
could  be  extracted  and  saved  most  economically.  Incidentally  to  this 
quest  of  material,  of  course,  was  that  of  carrying,  so  that  here  in  the 
very  beginning  of  our  art  a  host  of  useful  human  activities  are 
engendered.  The  Klamath  invented  a  peculiar  kind  of  mud  shoe 
to  wear  when  wading  about  in  shallow  marshes  after  roots  for  their 
basket  work.  (See  iig.  1.) 

The  steins  of  plants,  of  grass,  rushes,  and  woody  species  are  to  be 
found  in  the  basketry  of  almost  every  portion  of  the  Western  Hemi 
sphere.  The  young1  and  tough  shoots  of  a  single  year's  growth  are 
choice  materials  for  some  purposes,  and  were  eagerly  sought.  In  those 
regions  where  spinous  plants  yielded  the  materials,  a  sort  of  gathering 
knife  was  employed  resembling  a  miniature  sickle  with  a  wooden  handle. 
There  is  a  time  of  year  when-  they  are  in  the  best  condition  for  the 
basket  woman's  craft.  There  are  certain  parts  of  the  stems  which  are 
useful  in  this  direction,  while  others  are  valueless.  In  woody  species 
the  outer  layer  next  to  the  bark  has  the  toughness  of  leather,  while  a 
little  wa>T  inward  the  wood  is  almost  as  brittle  as  glass.  Furthermore, 
the  stems  of  plants  vary  greatly  in  color — different  parts  of  the  same 
stem  are  in  different  colors. 

Now,  the  student  would  be  surprised  to  find  in  the  East,  in  the  West, 
in  the  North,  and  in  the  South  that  there  is  very  little  more  for  the 
savage  woman  to  learn.  Distinguished  botanists  will  say  that  instead 
of  trying  to  teach  the  Indians  the  use  of  new  plants,  the  best  way  to 
search  for  new  materials  to  introduce  into  modern  textile  arts  can  be 
learned  from  these  savage  artisans.  The  leaves  of  plants  are  used  in 
basketry,  especially  in  the  South.  In  the  extreme  North,  among  the 
Eskimo  and  Athapascan  tribes,  no  leaves  are  suitable  for  basketry. 
Among  the  Aleutian  Islanders  stems  and  leaves  of  grass  come  into 
play.  Down  the  Pacific  coast  of  the  continent,  in  southeastern  Alaska, 
British  Columbia,  and  the  coast  States  of  the  Union  leaves,  either  in 
their  natural  color  or  dyed,  are  employed  Avith  great  effect  in  many 
types  of  ornamentation,  as  will  be  seen  further  on.  The  range  of  use 
fulness,  either  for  texture  or  ornament,  is  well  known  to  the  basket 
maker.  In  Mexico  and  tropical  America  this  division  of  the  subject 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  217 

has  been  developed  most.  Little  mechanism  is  necessary  in  this  part 
of  the  world.  A  sharpened  stick  for  the  root  gatherer  and  a  flint 
knife  and  mussel  shell  for  the  stem  harvester  complete  the  outfit. 
Nimble  fingers  aided  with  the  teeth  were  the  most  useful  apparatus. 

In  her  textile  gleaning,  the  savage  woman  has  not  been  slow  to 
avail  herself  of  the  metal  appliances  introduced  by  the  whites.  You 
will  now  see  her  atield  with  pick  and  knife  of  steel  gathering  the  old- 
time  substances. 

PREPARING  MATERIALS 

As  is  well  known,  every  industry  may  be  divided,  either  in  savagery 
or  in  civilization,  into  four  parts:  First,  that  which  is  associated  with 
taking  the  gifts  of  nature,  called  in  this  particular  instance  harvesting; 
second,  the  transformation  of  this  material  into  proper  form  for  special 
trades;  third,  the  manufacture  of  useful  and  ornamental  objects;  and, 
finally,  the  activities  of  consumption  and  enjoyment,  by  which  the 
things  may  take  their  places  as  servants  to  supply  the  wants  and 
desires  of  mankind. 

The  preparation  of  materials  for  basketry  consists  in  splitting  and 
separating  the  desirable  from  the  undesirable  portions;  in  removing 
the  bark;  in  taking  the  soft  and  spongy  matter  from  the  fibrous  por 
tion,  like  soaking  and  hackling  in  flax;  in  making  ribbon-like  splints 
of  uniform  width  and  thickness;  in  shredding,  as  in  cedar  bark;  in 
twisting,  twining,  and  braiding;  in  gauging,  and  coloring. 

The  apparatus  for  this  intermediate  work  must  have  been  in  abo 
riginal  times  very  simple,  a  stone  knife  and  shell  for  scraping  supple 
menting  the  work  of  the  fingers  and  the  teeth.  The  quality  of  the 
finished  workmanship  depends  largely  upon  this  secondary  process. 
In  those  regions  of  very  uniform  moisture  the  plants  used  were  of 
quick  growTth  and  pliable,  and  it  would  be  easy,  even  without  metal 
tools,  to  secure  fine  splints  and  other  elements  in  the  manufacture; 
but  in  those  localities  where  the  raw  substances  were  more  brittle, 
fine  work  would  be  difficult  and  indeed  was  impossible  until  quite 
recently.  It  is  a  question,  therefore,  whether  anciently  some  of  the 
modern  processes  in  basketry  were  known  at  all.  Certainly  there  was 
no  such  delicate  basketry  made  in  Canada  by  the  untaught  aborigines 
as  can  now  be  procured  from  their  descendants;  but  in  the  old  graves 
of  California  and  the  adjoining  areas  wonderful  pieces  of  delicate 
workmanship  are  brought  from  ancient  pre-Columbian  tombs. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  coloring  matters  were  in  ancient  times 
among  the  prepared  materials  of  basketry.  Nature  furnishes  oppor 
tunities  for  diversity  of  color  in  the  substances  themselves.  The  Indian 
also  knew  how  to  change  or  modify  the  natural  color  of  different 
materials  by  burying  them  in  mud.  The  juices  of  the  plants  and  the 
mineral  substances  in  the  mud  combined  to  produce  darker  shades  of 


218  REPOKT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

the  same  color  or  an  entirely  different  one.  But  the  savage  woman 
had  gone  further,  for  they  well  know  that  certain  plants  were  useful 
as  dyes.  In  point  of  fact,  the  best  dyestuffs  of  each  area  had  been 
exhaustively  exploited.  A  list  of  these  for  each  area  would  include  a 
large  number  of  useful  plants.  As  in  gathering  materials  the  simplest 
processes  involve  slight  artificiality,  so  in  this  intermediary  art  the 
most  primitive  basket  makers  modified  little  their  raw  materials.  They 
did  not  store  them  away  for  the  convenient  season,  and,  save  that  they 
soaked  them  before  using,  practiced  none  of  the  refining  processes 
necessary  to  the  highest  results. 

In  each  of  the  culture  areas  of  America  the  methods  of  preparing 
materials  were  peculiar. 

Dr.  Walter  J.  Hoffman  a  described  in  1895  the  aboriginal  process  of 
preparing  material  for  wicker  baskets  among  the  Menomini  Indians 
(Algonquin  Family)  on  Lake  Michigan.  See  figures  110  to  114  of  this 
paper. 

A  small  log  of  wood,  3  or  4  inches  in  diameter  and  as  long  as  it  is 
possible  to  procure  one  without  knots,  furnishes  the  splints.  (Hoff 
man's  fig.  37.)  These  logs  are  cut  when  the  rings  of  annual  growth 
are  most  easily  ruptured.  The  log  is  beaten  with  a  wooden  mallet. 
The  example  shown  in  Hoffman's  illustration  (fig.  38)  is  of  modern 
type,  made  with  steel  tools,  but  the  ancient  Indian,  no  doubt,  had  a 
much  rougher  but  quite  as  efficient  implement.  The  strips  thus  loos 
ened  are  torn  off  one  by  one  as  long  as  the  material  is  sufficiently  flex 
ible  for  basket  making.  The  next  process  is  the  shaping  of  these 
splints  for  the  desired  work — splitting  them,  shaving  them  down  thin 
and  smooth,  and  finishing  them  for  the  hand  of  the  weaver. 

The  basket-maker's  awl  of  bone,  the  old  aboriginal  implement,  may 
be  seen  at  work  in  many  camps;  but  the  knife  with  which  the  pre- 
Columbian  woman  cut  her  basket  material  has  utterly  disappeared 
from  use.  Now,  among  the  Algonkin,  the  knife  of  steel  vastlv 
improved  their  art  and  it  raises  a  question  whether  in  the  pristine 
condition  of  savagery  some  forms  of  basketry  were  as  good  as  they 
are  at  present.  This  query  applies  only  to  work  done  in  hard  wood. 

The  knife  now  in  use  among  the  Indians  for  this  and  other  wood 
working  purposes  is  an  interesting  survival  from  the  remote  past  in 
Europe.  It  is  now  active  in  the  farrier's  shop  for  paring  the  frog  of 
the  horse's  foot,  prior  to  putting  on  the  shoe;  but  two  or  three  centu 
ries  ago,  under  name  of  man's  knife, b  it  found  its  way  through  the 
entire  English  and  French  area  of  North  America. 

A  curved  blade  of  steel  is  inserted  or  laid  in  a  groove  on  the  side  of 

«  Fourteenth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  Part  I,  figs.  37-41. 

&The  man's  Knife  among  the  North  American  Indians:  A  study  in  the  Collections 
of  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  by  Otis  Tufton  Mason,  Keport  of  the  U.  S.  National 
Museum,  1897,  pp.  725-745,  17  figs. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  219 

the  handle,  made  fast  by  wrapping  with  strong  twine.  The  groove  is 
shouldered  so  as  to  take  the  pressure.  The  blade  is  detachable  for 
the  purpose  of  grinding  it.  It  will  be  seen  that  if  held  in  the  right 
hand  the  operator  cuts  toward  himself.  This  is  the  ancient  method 
of  whittling  practiced  by  the  peoples  on  the  western  shores  of  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  the  Ainos,  Japanese,  etc.  (Hoffman's  fig.  39.) 

A  bundle  of  splints  is  shown  in  fig.  40  of  Hoffman's  paper  of  dif 
ferent  widths  ready  for  the  hand  of  the  basket  maker,  and  in  fig.  41 
(Hoffman)  is  a  coarse-finished  product  showing  the  method  of  setting 
up  the  warp  and  applying  the  weft  in  wicker  basketry  of  the  Menomini. 

It  is  not  known  that  the  ancient  Menomini  used  any  dyes  on  their 
baskets  whatever.  In  their  modern  ware  they  procure  these  substances 
through  traders. 

The  sweet  grass  (Savastana  odorata),  of  which  large  quantities  of 
baskets  are  manufactured,  was  dried  in  the  shade  to  hold  its  color. 
Further,  it  was  rolled  into  bunches  and  sewed  with  sinew,  as  the 
Eskimo  do  in  making  their  coiled  baskets.  Veiy  old  specimens  of 
such  ware  are  preserved  in  collections.  But  in  the  ware  now  in  the 
market  twine  and  braid  of  this  material  are  prepared  beforehand  in 
large  quantities  for  the  future  use  of  the  weaver  and  frequently  by 
different  hands. 

Farther  south  in  the  Eastern  basket  area  the  canes  for  twilled  bas 
ketry  needed  no  knife  for  the  splitting.  A  slight  blow  would  crush  the 
stalk,  the  spongy  matter  adhering  to  the  inside  was  scraped  awa}^,  and 
the  splints  were  ready  for  the  dyer  or  the  weaver  if  they  were  not  to 
be  colored. 

The  following  information  concerning  natural  sources  of  color  for 
basketn^  and  other  objects  among  the  Cherokee  Indians  comes  from 
Miss  Harriet  C.  Wilkie,  of  Raleigh,  North  Carolina.  The  petals  of 
the  iris  rubbed  on  a  slightly  rough  surface  are  said  to  yield  a  rich 
and  lasting  purple.  The  blossoms  and  tender  green  tops  and  leaves  of 
the  common  sneeze  weed  (Ilelenium  autumnale)  made  into  a  tea  yield 
a  beautiful  and  fadeless  yellow.  Long  boiling  dulls  this  to  a  yellowish 
olive.  The  common  broom  sedge  (Andropogon  scoparius),  winter 
dried,  yields  another  }7ellow,  less  pure  and  brilliant,  also  much  affected 
by  continued  boiling.  The  color  is  known  as  burnt  orange  and  works 
beautifully  in  basketry. 

In  central  Alaska  the  Athapascan  tribes  use  both  spruce  and  willow 
for  their  coiled  basket  jars  and  trinket  material.  Much  care  is  bestowed 
in  splitting  the  roots  and  stems,  in  order  to  procure  uniform  sewing 
material.  In  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  the  specimens  all  show  care 
in  this  regard.  The  Alaskan  Eskimo  on  Bering  Sea  also  manufacture 
coiled  basketiy  as  well  as  twined,  but  it  is  from  dried  grass  and  shows 
very  little  care  in  the  preparation.  Crossing  over  to  the  Aleutian 
chain,  the  care  bestowed  on  materials  is  different. 


220  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

When  Attn  weavers  wanted  the  grass  to  be  white  it  was  cut  in 
November,  the  whole  stalk  (wild  rye),  and  hung  points  down  out  01 
doors  to  dry.  If  grass  was  to  be  yellow,  the  common  color,  it  is  cut 
in  the  middle  of  July,  and  the  two  youngest  blades  that  are  full  grown 
are  then  cut  out  and  split  into  three  pieces,  the  middle  one  being 
thrown  away.  The  other  pieces  are  then  tied  into  bunches  about  -2 
inches  in  diameter  and  hung  up  to  dry  out  of  doors  (points  down).  Jf 
the  grass  is  to  be  cured  green  it  is  prepared  as  when  it  is  wanted  to 
be  3Tellow,  but  the  first  two  weeks  of  the  curing  is  carried  on  in  the 
shade  of  the  dense  growth  of  grass  and  weeds  that  is  found  in  the 
villages.  After  that  it  is  taken  out  and  dried  in  the  house.  Under  no 
circumstances  is  the  sun  allowed  to  shine  on  any  of  the  grass  in  the 
process  of  curing,  which  takes  about  a  month  or  more. 

Beautiful  coiled  basketry  is  made  by  the  Chilcotin,  Harrison  Lake, 
Lower  Thompson  Indians  in  British  Columbia,  Salish  on  the  coast, 
as  well  as  Klikitat  and  Tulalip  in  Washington.  Only  women  and  girls 
occupy  themselves  with  this  work.  The  baskets  are  made  from  the 
small,  trailing  roots  of  the  cedar  (Thuja  plicata).  These  are  dug  up 
with  an  ordinary  root  digger,  and  pieces  of  the  desired  length  and  of 
about  the  thickness  of  a  finger  are  cut  off.  These  are  buried  in  the 
ground  to  keep  them  fresh.  When  required  they  are  taken  out  and 
peeled  or  scraped  with  a  sharp  stone  or  knife.  They  are  then  hung 
up  until  dry  enough  for  use.  Next  they  are  split  into  long  strips  by 
inserting  and  pressing  forward  the  point  of  the  awl  used  in  basket 
making,  made  from  the  long  bone  of  a  deer.  The  pieces  which  have 
the  desired  width  and  thickness  throughout  their  entire  length  are 
used  for  stitching  purposes,  while  others  which  split  irregularly,  or 
are  too  short  or  too  thin  to  be  used  for  that  purpose,  are  put  together 
in  bundles  to  form  the  foundation  of  the  coils.  In  the  sewing  these 
foundations  are  kept  continuous  and  of  uniform  thickness  by  adding 
fresh  pieces  as  required.  (See  Plate  11.) 

In  other  basketiy,  thin,  pliable  strips  of  cedar  sap  or  other  wood  in 
pairs,  having  both  smooth  sides  out,  are  used  for  foundation  instead 
of  the  bunches  of  split  roots.  These  are  stitched  in  the  same  manner, 
but  are  neither  as  strong  nor  as  durable  nor  are  they  water-tight. a 

The  Upper  Fraser  and  the  Lytton  bands  sometimes  use  Elymus 
triticoides  instead  of  Xerophyllwn.  The  bark  used  is  that  of  Prunus 
demissa,  which  is  either  left  its  natural  light  reddish-brown  color  or 
is  dyed  by  burying  it  in  damp  earth.  By  thus  keeping  it  under 
ground  for  a  short  time  it  assumes  a  dark-brown  color;  if  kept  longer 
it  becomes  quite  black.  (Teit.) 

The  Makah  Indians  make  a  red  color  by  mixing  vermilion  with 
chewed  salmon  eggs;  black  color  is  a  combination  of  bituminous  coal 

a  James  Teit,  The  Thompson  Indians  of  British  Columbia,  Memoirs  of  the  Ameri 
can  Museum  of  Natural  History,  II,  Pt.  4,  1900,  pp.  163-392. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  221 

and  the  same  carrier;  cedar  bark  is  colored  black  by  soaking  in  mud, 
and  red  by  means  of  alder  bark  chewed.*  (Swan.) 

The  Twana  Indians,  on  Skokomish  Reservation,  Washington,  now 
use  a  steel-bladed  knife  and  an  awl  of  the  same  material  in  basket 
making.  Formerly  they  emplo\7ed  a  pointed  stick  or  bone  for  their 
imbricated  ware  and  for  pressing  home  the  weft  of  twined  basketry; 
but  in  large  measure  their  fingers  are  their  tools.  (Myron  Eells.) 
The  same  remark  applies  to  basket  makers  in  all  the  culture  areas. 
Fingers  and  teeth  are  still  in  vogue  and  can  not  be  dispensed  with. 
The  metal  awl,  however,  quite  displaces  that  of  bone,  and  it  is  not 
surprising  to  find  scissors  of  the  best  make  added  to  the  steel-bladed 
knife,  especially  for  clipping  off  the  projecting  ends  of  materials. 

Hazel  stalks  are  gathered  by  Oregon  tribes  in  best  form  on  ground 
that  has  been  burned  over,  the  young  ones  springing  up  straight  and 
strong  from  the  rich  soil.  The  peeled  stems  are  the  warp,  those  split 
by  means  of  the  teeth  are  the  weft,  and  a  dye  is  made  from  the  bark 
chewed  by  the  basket  maker.  (Mrs.  Harriet  K.  McArthur.)  The  fine 
white  grass,  like  ivory  in  smoothness  and  tint,  is  obtained  at  great 
elevations,  their  excursions  leading  them  to  the  summer  snow  line  of 
Mount  Shasta. 

PROCESSES  OF  MANUFACTURE 

As  you  gaze  on  the  Indian  basket  maker  at  work,  herself  frequently 
unkempt,  her  garments  the  coarsest,  her  house  and  surroundings  sug 
gestive  of  anything  but  beauty,  you  are  amazed.  You  look  about 
you,  as  in  a  cabinet  shop  or  atelier,  for  models,  drawings,  patterns, 
pretty  bits  of  color  effect.  There  are  none.^.H&p  pattern  are  in  her 
soul,  in  her  memory  and  imagination,  in  the  mountains,  water  courses, 
lakes,  and  forests,  and  in  those  tribal  tales  and  myths  which  dominate 
the  actions  of  every  hour.  She  hears  suggestions  from  another  world. 
Her  tools  are  more  disappointing  still,  for  of  these  there  are  few — a 
rude  knife,  a  pointed  bone,  that  is  all.  Her  modeling  block  is  herself. 
Her  plastic  body  is  the  repository  of  forms.  Over  her  knee  she  molds 
depressions  in  her  ware,  and  her  lap  is  equal  to  all  emergencies  for 
•convex  effects.  She  herself  is  the  Vishnu  of  her  art,  the  creator  of 
forms. 

The  Tlinkit  in  weaving,  says  Emmons,  sits  with  the  knees  drawn  up 
to  the  chin,  the  feet  close  to  the  body,  the  shoulders  bent  over,  the 
arms  around  the  knees,  the  hands  in  front.  Sometimes  one  knee  is 
dropped  a  little  to  the  side,  and,  in  the  case  of  old  women,  they  often 
recline  on  one  hip,  with  the  legs  drawn  up,  the  elbows  resting  on  a 
pillow  or  blanket  doubled  up. 

In  all  types  of  weave  the  working  strands  are  constantly  dampened 
by  dipping  the  fingers  into  a  basket  or  cup  of  water  close  at  hand,  or, 
in  the  case  of  embroidery,  by  drawing  the  section  of  grass  stem 


222  REPOET    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

through  the  lips,  The  material  is  kept  in  a  plaque-like  work  basket 
called  tarlth  ("spread  out,"  from  its  flat  bottom  and  low,  flaring 
sides).  Besides  the  shell  or  metal  knife  there  is  generally  a  rude  awl, 
consisting  of  a  spike  of  goat  or  deer  horn,  a  bear's  claw,  or  a  piece  of 
bone  rubbed  down  to  a  tapering  point,  and  a  large  incisor  of  the  brown 
bear  or  the  tooth  of  the  killer  whale.  These  constitute  all  of  the  tools 
and  accessories  used  in  basketry.  (Emmons.) 

Plate  12  represents  a  Porno  Indian  basketmaker.  In  front  of  her 
is  an  unfinished  water-tight  basket  jar  in  plain  twined  weaving.  The 
warp  elements  are  willow  rods  dressed  down  to  uniform  thickness; 
the  weft  is  of  carex  root  and  cercis  stems  split,  the  patterns  being 
made  in  the  latter.  Photographed  by  EL  W.  Henshaw. 

Plate  13  represents  a  Tlinkit  woman  of  Sitka,  Alaska,  making  a 
twined  basket.  All  the  native  surroundings  are  absent — the  environ 
ment,  as  men  are  wont  to  say — but  the  artist's  mind  and  skillful 
fingers  remain.  She  has  four  elements  to  handle  simultaneously— 
warp,  two  wefts,  and  decorative  material.  The  mouth,  therefore,  is 
brought  into  requisition,  as  may  be  seen.  The  operation  consists  in 
twining  with  finel}7  divided  spruce  root  and  wrapping  each  outside 
splint  with  colored  straw.  The  work  resembles  embroidery  when 
finished  and  is,  in  this  work,  called  false  embroidery. 

There  seems  to  be  always  an  affectionate  fellow  feelkig  between  the 
skillful  hand  of  the  artisan  and  the  materials  which  it  fashions.  The 
more  tractable  the  latter,  the  more  deft  the  former.  That  is  not 
always  true  in  culture.  The  best  endowment  does  not  always  yield 
the  best  results.  But  the  statement  holds  good  in  our  art  with  few 
exceptions.  Where  the  finest  grasses  grow,  and  the  toughest  roots 
and  stems,  they  set  up  a  school  of  mutual  refinement  between  the 
woman  and  her  work.  It  needs  only  a  few  miles  eastward  or  north 
ward  to  change  the  garden  into'a  desert  and  correspondingly  to  degen 
erate  the  artist.  It  would  be  unjust  to  her  ingenious  mind  to  over 
look  the  fact  that  she  has  not  been  utterly  cast  down  \yy  the  failure  of 
one  kind  of  material.  She  is  not  long  in  finding  out  new  substances 
and  new  technic  processes  for  each  environment. 


WOVEN   BASKETRY 


The  various  processes  of  manufacture  will  now  be  definitely 
explained.  In  technic,  ks^ftlr eady ^d-fp-rJ^O') ,  basketnr  is  either  hand- 
woven  or  sewed.  The  hand-woven  basketry  is  further  divisible  into 
(A)  Checkerworl*,  (B)  Twilledwork,  (0)  Wickerwvrk,  (D)  Wrappedwwk, 
and  (R)  Twinedwork,  in  several  varieties.  The  sewed  work  goes  by 
the  name  of  coiled  basketry,  and  is  classed  both  by  the  foundation  and 
the  fastening.  In  addition  to  these  technical  methods  on  the  body, 
special  ones  are  to  be  found  in  the  border.  • 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


223 


FIG.Y 


COAKSK  CliKCIs  KRWORK. 


A.  Checkerwork. — This  occurs  especially  in  the  bottoms  of  many 
North  Pacific  coast  examples,  and  also  in  the  work  of  eastern  Canadian 
tribes  (fig.  f);  in  matting1  its  use  is  well  nigh  universal. 

In  this  ware  the  warp  and  the  weft  have  the  same  thickness  and 
pliability.  It  is  impossible,  therefore,  in  looking  at  the  bottoms  of 
the  cedar-bark  baskets  and  the  matting  of  British  Columbia  (fig.  A)  or 
Eastern  Canada  to  tell  which  is  warp 
and  which  is  weft.  In  very  many  exam 
ples  the  warp  and  weft  of  a  checker 
bottom  are  turned  up  at  right  angles  to 
form  the  warp  of  the  sides,  which  may 
be  wicker  or  twined  work,  j  A  great 
deal  of  bark  matting  is  made  in  this 
same  checkerwork,  but  the  patterns  run 
obliquely  to  the  axis  of  the  fabric,  giv 
ing  the  appearance  of  diagonal  weaving. 
The  fine  hats  of  Ecuador  are  especially 
noticeable  in  this  deceptive  appearance, 
which  is  caused  by  the  weaver's  begin 
ning  the  work  at  the  center.  Perhaps, 
though  there  is  no  positive  information  on  this  subject,  the  North 
Pacific  coast  women  proceed  in  the  same  manner  to  give  a  tiled  effect 
to  the  surface  of  their  matting,  j  When  warp  and  weft  are  fine  yarn 

or  threads  the  result  is  the 
simplest  form  of  cloth  in 
cotton,  linen,  pina  fiber, 
or  wool.  The  cheap  fab 
rics 
this 

In  art  and  industry  lattice 
work  frequently  shows 
the  bars  intertwined  as  in 
checker  basketry  (6gr4). 
From  this  results  a  most 
stable  figure,  the  elasticity 
of  the  material  and  the 
friction  of  the  surfaces 
holding  the  fabric  to 
gether.  (See  figs.  4,5,6.) 
The  pleasing  effects 
that  may  be  produced  in 
checker  are  shown  in  Plate  14.  At  the  bottom  is  coarse  work.  At 
the  end  of  seven  rows  the  warp  strips  of  bark  are  held  firmly  in  place 
by  a  row  of  twined  weaving  and  then  split  into  four,  each  sixth  one 


of   commerce  are  of 
species  of   weaving. 


FIG.  3. 


FINE  CHECKERWORK. 


224 


EEPOKT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 


being-  left  whole  for  artificial  effects.  At  proper  intervals  broader 
strips  of  weft  are  introduced.  In  the  chapter  on  ornamentation  atten 
tion  will  be  called  to  the  variety  in  this  mass  of  unity  by  the  individual 
characteristics  of  each  square  in  the  weaving. 

B-   TwiUedworL—This    is    seen    espe- 

c'ially  in  thoso  Parts  of  the  world  where 
cane  abounds.  In  America  it  is  quite 
common  in  British  Columbia,  Washington, 
Southern  United  States,  Mexico,  and  Cen 
tral  America,  and  of  excellent  workman 
ship  in  Peru,  Guiana,  and  Ecuador.  The 
fundamental  technic  of  diagonal  basketry 
is  in  passing  each  element  of  the  weft 
over  two  or  more  warp  elements,  thus 
producing-  either  diag-onal  or  twilled,  or, 
in  the  best  samples,  an  endless  variety  of 
diaper  patterns.  (See  figs.3^ 


FIG.  4. 

OPEN  CHECKERWORK. 


The  example  shown  in  Plate  15  represents  a  cig-ar  case  made  "by  the 
women  of  Bolivia,  who  weave  the  celebrated  Panama  hats,  the  texture 
being  fine  twilled  work.  The  ornamentation  should  be  studied  care 
fully,  for  it  consists  of  twined  weaving,  in  which  both  warp  and  weft 
strands  are  brought  together  in  pairs  and  one  twined  about  the  other. 


FlG.  5. 
TWILLED  WORK. 


FIG.  6. 

TWILLED  WORK. 


There  is  no  attempt  at  anything  but  plain  over-two  weaving  elsewhere 
in  this  specimen.  To  the  student  of  technology  it  is  charming-  to 
read  in  this  connection  from  lire's  Dictionary  a  the  labored  description 
of  twilled  loom  work  with  its  hundreds  of  parts  in  the  climax  of  a  series 
of  inventions  initiated  with  savage  women's  figures. 
Twill,  or  tweel.  A  diagonal  appearance  given  to  a  fabric  by  causing 

°  Article  Weaving,  fourth  edition,  London,  1853. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


225 


the  weft  threads  to  pass  over  one  warp  thread,  and  then  under  two, 
and  so  on,  instead  of  taking  the  warp  threads  in  regular  succession, 
one  down,  one  up.  The  next  weft  thread  takes  a  set  oblique  to  the 
former,  throwing  up  one  of  the  two  deposed  by  the  preceding.  In 
some  twills  it  is  one  in  three,  or  one  in  four.  The  Latin  trilix,  a  cer 
tain  pattern  in  weaving,  became  drillicJi  in  German,  and  hence  our 
word  drill.  Twill  is  derived  from  zwillich,  which  answers  to  the 
Latin  Vd'uv,  and  the  Greek  dimilos.  The  latter  survives  in  dimity. 
See  also  samite,  derived  from  Greek  hexamiton,  six  thread. 


FIG.  7. 
ANCIENT  TWILLED  WORK. 

Tressed  on  pottery  of  Alabama.    After  W.  H.  Holmes. 

The  French  touaille  has  also  been  suggested  as  the  etymological 
source  of  the  word. 

The  fabrics  thus  woven  are  very  numerous — satin,  blanket,  merino, 
bombazine,  kerseymere,  etc.  When  the  threads  cross  each  alternately 
in  regular  order  it  is  called  plain  weaving;  but  in  twill  the  same 


FIG.  8. 

ANCIENT  TWILLED   WORK. 
Pressed  on  pottery  of  Tennessee.    After  W.  H.  Holmes. 


thread  of  weft  is  flushed,  or  separated  from  the  warp  while  passing 
over  a  number  of  warp  threads,  and  then  passes  under  a  warp  thread. 


The  points  where  the  threads  of  the  warp  cross  form  diagonal  lines, 
NAT  MUS  1902—15 


226 


KEPOET    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 


parallel  to  each  other,  across  the  face  of  the  cloth.  In  Uanket  twill 
every  third  thread  is  crossed.  In  some  fabrics  1,  5,  6,  7,  or  8  threads 
are  crossed,  \i\full  satin  twill  there  is  an  interval  of  15  threads,  the 
warp  (organzine  silk)  being  floated  over  15  threads  of  the  woof  (tram), 
giving  the  glossy  appearance. 

Twills  require  noddies  equal  in  number  to  the  threads  that  are 
included  in  the  intervals  between  the  intersections.  This  disposition 
of  the  warps  in  the  heddles  is  termed  mounting  the  loom,  and  the 


FIG. 

TWILLED  WEAVING. 
Cherokee  Indians,  North  Carolina. 

heddles  are  termed  leaves.  A  twill  takes  its  name  from  the  number 
of  leaves  employed,  as  a  three-leaf  twill,  a  five-leaf  twill,  etc. 

Twills  are  used  for  the  display  of  color,  for  strength,  variety,  thick 
ness,  or  durability. 

On  a  fragment  of  ancient  pottery  from  Alabama,  Holmes  also 
discovered  marks  of  basketry  in  twilled  weaving,  as  shown  in 
fig.  7. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  material  of  cat-tail  or  split  cane  was  used. 
The  effect  shown  in  the  figure  was  produced  by  passing  each  weft 
strand  over  three  warp  strands  and  under  one  on  the  side  exhibited. 
On  the  other  side  of  the  texture,  no  doubt,  the  process  was  reversed, 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  227 

the  warp  strands  passing  over  three  and  under  one.  In  such  work 
there  was  opportunity  to  use  double  warp  and  weft,  the  strips  of  cane 
laid  together  so  as  to  expose  two  bright  surfaces. 

In  order  to  vary  the  texture  of  twilled  work,  the  ancient  inhabitants 
of  the  Mississippi  Valley  knew  how  to  use  for  warp  and  weft  sub 
stances  of  different  widths.  On  a  fragment  of  ancient  pottery  from 
Pope  County,  Tennessee,  Holmes  found  impressions  of  ancient  basketry. 
Fig.  8  shows  how  these  ancient  weavers  utilized  wide  fiber  of  bast  or 
split  cane  for  the  warp,  and  string  for  the  weft,  passing  in  their  work 
over  two  each  time.  For  the  uses  of  woven  fabrics  on  making  pottery 


FIG.  W). 

WICKER  BASKET. 

Zufli,  New  Mexico. 

<'Hl.  No.  4(01,  I'.S.X.M.     Collected  by  .1.  \V.  I'owHI. 

and  the  interesting  way  in  which  the  history  of  lost  arts  have  been 
preserved,  see  Part  VII. 

Excellent  variety  was  also  produced  in  this  kind  of  weaving  by 
means  of  color.  Almost  any  textile  plant  when  split  has  two  colors, 
that  of  the  outer,  or  bark  surface,  and  that  of  the  interior  woody 
surface  or  pith.  Also  the  different  plants  used  in  diagonal  basketry 
have  great  variety  of  color.  By  the  skillful  manipulation  of  the  two 
sides  of  a  splint,  by  using  plants  of  different  species,  or  with  dyed 
elements,  geometric  patterns,  frets,  labyrinths,  and  other  designs  in 
straight  line  are  possible.  (See  tig.  §.) 


228 


REPORT    OF   NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 


Examples  from  the  saltpeter  caves,  and  modern  pieces  from  the 
Cherokee,  both  in  matting  and  basketry,  are  double.  By  this  means 
both  the  inside  and  the  outside  of  the  texture  expose  the  glossy 
siliceous  surface  of  the  cane.  By  changing  the  number  of  warp  splints 
or  a  stem  over  which  the  weft  passes,  it  will  be  seen  in  the  figure  here 
given  that  great  variety  of  diaper  or  damask  effect  may  be  produced. 
C.  Wickerwork. — The  name  is  from  the  Anglo-Saxon  ^oican,  to  bend. 
Common  in  eastern  Canada,  it  is  little  known  on  the  Pacific  coast  and 
in  the  Interior  Basin,  excepting  in  one  or  two  pueblos,  but  is  seen 
abundantly  in  southern  Mexico  and  Central  America,  It  consists  of 
a  wide  or  a  thick  and  inflexible  warp  and  a  slender  flexible  weft  (fig. 
D 1Q).  The  weaving  is  plain  and  differs  from  checkerwork  only  in  the 
fact  that  one  of  the  elements  is  rigid.  The  effect  on  the  surface  is  a 
series  of  ridges.  It  is  possible  also  to  produce  diagonal  effects  in  this 
type  of  weaving. 

Wickerwork  must  have  been  a  very  early  and  primitive  form  of 
textile.  Weirs  for  stopping  fish  are  made  of  brush,  and  wattled 

fences  for  game  drivers  are  set  up 
in  the  same  manner.  A  great  deal 
of  the  coarse  basketry  in  use  for 
packing  and  transporting  is  made  in 
this  fashion.  The  Zuiii  Indians 
make  gathering  baskets  of  little 
twigs  after  the  same  technic,  the 
inflexible  warp  being  made  up  of  a 
small  number  of  twigs  of  the  same 
plant,  laid  side  by  side.  The  transi 
tion  from  checker  to  wicker  in  some 
examples  is  easy.  The  moment  one 
element,  either  warp  or  weft,  is  a 
little  more  rigid  than  the  other,  the 
intersections  would  naturally  assume 
a  wicker  form. 

The^nest  specimens  in  America  are  the  very  pretty  Hopi  plaques 
made  of  Gtirysothammts  moquianus  and  C.  laricinus.  Short  stems  are 
dyed  in  various  colors  for  weft,  the  ends  worked  into  the  warp  and 
the  whole  driven  tightly  home,  so  as  to  hide  the  ends  of  the  warp  and 
even  the  manner  of  weaving.  (See  fig.  11.) 

Various  patterns  are  effected  on  the  surface — geometric  figures, 

;   clouds,  mythical  animals  and  persons,   and  symbols  connected  with 

I  worship.     Wickerwork  has  pleasing  effects  combined  with  diagonal 

and   other  work.     Fig.^r^  is  a  square  Hopi  plaque,  having  twilled 

>  weaving  in  the  middle  and  a  band  of  wicker  outside  of  this,  the  whole 

finished  with  rough,  coiled  sewing  on  the  border. 

It  has  passed  into  modern  industry  through  the  cultivation  of  osiers, 
rattan,  and  such  plants  for  market  baskets,  covers  for  glass  bottles, 


FIG.  11. 

CLOSE  WICKERWORK. 

Hopi  Indians,  Arizona. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


229 


and  in  ribbed  cloth,  wherein  a  flexible  weft  is  worked  on  a  rigid  warp. 
Also,  good  examples  are  now  produced  by  the  Algonkin  tribes  of 
New  England  and  eastern  Canada. 

For  commercial  purposes,  wicker  baskets  precisely  like  those  of  the 
Abenaki  Indians  are  thus  made. 

The  white-oak  timber  is  brought  to  the  yard  in  sticks  running  from 
6  to  4:0  inches  in  diameter  and  from  4  to  18  feet  long.  It  is  first  sawed 
into  convenient  lengths,  then  split  with  a  maul  and  wedges  into  fourths 
or  sixteenths.  The  bark  is  then  stripped  off  with  a  drawing  knife. 
The  next  process  is  cutting  it  into  bolts  at  what  is  called  the  splitting 
horse,  to  be  shaved  down  with  a  drawing  knife  into  perfectly  smooth, 
even  bolts  of  the  width  and  length  desired.  These  are  then  placed  in 


I 


FIG.  12.  U 

TWILLED  AND  WICKER  MAT. 

Hopi  Indians,  Arizona. 
A£tet^Kfr  n.  nolmos. 

the  steam  box  and  steamed  for  a  half  hour  or  so,  which  makes  the 
splints  more  pliable.  They  are  taken  thence  to  the  splint  knife,  which 
is  arranged  so  that  one  person,  by  changing  the  position  of  the  knife, 
can  make  splints  of  any  desired  thickness,  from  that  of  paper  to  that 
of  a  three-fourths-inch  hoop. 

The  oyster  baskets  and  most  small  baskets  have  the  bottom  splints 
laid  one  across  another  and  are  plainly  woven  in  checker. 

But  the  round- bottomed  baskets,  used  for  grain  and  truck,  are  made 
by  taking  from  10  to  18  ribs  and  laying  them  across  each  other  at  the 
middle,  in  radiating  form,  and  weaving  around  with  a  narrow  thin 
splint  until  the  desired  size  for  the  bottom  is  reached,  when  the  splints 
are  turned  up  and  set  in  other  baskets,  about  a  dozen  in  a  series,  for 
twenty-four  hours. 


230 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 


They  are  then  woven  around  with  a  tine  splint  and  placed  on  a 
revolving  drum  or  form  and  tilled  up  the  required  hight  and  set  in  the 
sun  to  dry  for  six  hours.  They  are  then  shaken  hard  by  striking  the 
bottom  on  the  floor,  which  causes  the  splints  to  settle  tight  together 
and  prepared  for  the  rim.  They  next  proceed  to  fasten  the  handles  to 
the  sides  and  put  the  rims  or  hoops  on  by  fitting  them  into  the  notches 
made  in  the  handles  and  binding  them  tightly  with  tine  splints.  The 
different  styles  are  made  by  using  different-shaped  drums  and  vari 
ously  colored  splints,  the  lat 
ter  being  done  by  dipping 
the  splints  before  weaving 
into  d3^es. 

The  most  curiously  made 
baskets  are  those  for  the  char 
coal  and  eelpots. 

The  charcoal  baskets  are 
shaped  like  a  tray  and  are  car 
ried  on  the  head  by  the  coal 
carriers. 

The  eelpots  are  used  as  traps 
for  catching  eels.  The  wood 
is  prepared  for  them  in  the 
same  manner,  and  they  are 
made  on  a  form  about  40  inches 
long  and  in  the  shape  of  a  bot 
tle  minus  the  bottom,  and  have 
a  funnel  arrangement  at  either 
end,  which  is  detachable,  j 

D.  WrappecbworJc.  —  Wrap 
ped  basketry  consists  of  flex 
ible  or  rigid  warp  and  flexible 
weft.  Examples  of  this  tech- 
nic  are  to  be  seen  in  America  at  the  present  time  among  the  Indians 
of  southern  Arizona  for  their  carrying  frames.  (See  tig.;"b§.) 

The  warp  extends  from  the  rigid  hoop,  which  forms  the  top,  to  the 
bottom  where  the  elements  are  made  fast.  Firmness  is  given  to  the 
structure  by  means  of  two  bowed  rods  crossing  at  right  angles  at  the 
bottom  and  securely  lashed  at  the  top.  The  weft,  usually  of  twine,  is 
attached  to  one  of  the  corner  or  frame  pieces  at  the  bottom  and  is 
wrapped  once  around  each  warp  element.  This  process  continues  in  a 
coil  until  the  top  of  the  basket  is  reached.  In  some  of  its  features 
this  method  resembles  coiled  work,  but  as  a  regular  warp  is  employed 
and  no  needle  is  used  in  the  coiling,  it  belongs  more  to  the  woven 
series.  Hudson  mentions  the  same  among  the  Pomos  for  holding  roof 


FIG.  13. 

WRAPPED  WEAVING. 

Mohave  Indians,  Arizona. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


231 


poles  in  place.  The  wrapping  is  very  cfbse  where  the  rafters  come  to 
a  point.  As  they  widen  the  weft  comes  to  be  farther  apart,  being 
quite  open  on  the  outer  margin.  This  method  of  weaving  was 
employed  by  the  mound  builders  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  Markings 
of  wrapped  weaving  pressed  on  ancient  pottery  taken  from  a  mound  in 
Ohio  are  to  be  seen  in  the  Third  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 
(See  fig#X.) 

This  style  of  weaving  had  not  a  wide  distribution  in  America  and  is 
used  at  the  present  day  in  a  restricted  region.  When  the  warp  and 
the  weft  are  of  the  same  twine  or  material  and  the  decussations  are 
drawn  tight,  the  joint  resembles  the  first  half  of  a  square  knot.  The 
Mincopies  of  the  Andaman  Islands  construct  a  carrying  basket  in  the 
same  technic.  Specimens  of  their  work  were  collected  and  presented 
to  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  by 
Dr.  W.  L.  Abbott>  These  baskets 
resemble  most  closely  the  Mohave 
specimens,  only  they  are  smaller  and 
more  attractive.  The  Mincopies  and 
their  neighbors  far  and  near  have  the 
incomparable  rattan  for  warp  and 
weft,  which  combines  the  strength 
and  flexibility  of  copper  wire.  The 
distribution  of  this  wrapped  weav 
ing  has  not  been  studied,  j  Plate  IT 
is\{|  carrying  basket  in  wrapped 

weaving  from  the  Mohave  Indians,  photographed  from  thesoriginal 
now  in  the  Field  Columbian  Museum,  Chicago. 

E.  Twinedwork. — This  is  found  in  ancient  mounds  of  the  Missis 
sippi  Valley,  in  bagging  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  down  the  Pacific 
coast  from  the  island  of  Attu,  the  most  westerly  of  the  Aleutian 
chain,  to  the  borders  of  Chile,  and  here  and  there  in  the  Atlantic 
slope  of  South  America.  Indeed,  it  is  found  among  savages  through 
out  the  world.  It  is  the  most  elegant  and  intricate  of  all  in  the  woven 
or  plicated  series.  Twined  work  has  a  set  of  warp  rods  or  rigid 
elements  as  in  wickerwork,  but  the  weft  elements  are  commonly 
administered  in  pairs,  though  in  three-strand  twining  and  in  braid 
twining  three  weft  elements  are  employed.  In  passing  from  warp  to 
warp  these  elements  are  twisted  in  half -turns  on  each  other  so  as  to 
form  a  two-strand  or  three-strand  twine  or  braid  and  usually  so  deftly 
as  to  keep  the  smooth,  glossy  side  of  the  weft  outward. 

The  position  of  the  weaver  at  her  task  on  twined  work,  in  Plate  18, 
shows  the  transition  between  the  humble  posture  of  the  primitive 
basket  maker  and  her  successor  later  on  seated  at  a  loom.  The  name 


FIG.  14. 
WRAPPED  AVEAVING,  FROM  MOUND  IN  OHIO. 


a  Smithsonian  Report,  1901,  pp.  475-492,  pi.  n. 


232 


REPOKT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 


of  the  weaver  in  the  lower  figure  is  Elizabeth  Propokofi'ono.  Pier 
home  is  on  the  island  of  Atka,  far  out  in  the  Aleutian  chain.  The 
Tlinkit  weaver  sits  on  the  ground  in  the  old-fashioned  way,  because 
her  warp  is  rigid  and  self-supporting;  Elizabeth,  however,  is  working 
in  soft  grass,  both  for  warp  and  weft.  For  this  reason  the  former  is 
suspended,  and  she  is  working  from  below  upward.  The  Haida  Indians 
on  Queen  Charlotte  Archipelago  south  of  her,  as  will  be  seen  later  on, 
weave  in  the  same  manner,  the  war])  resting  on  a  disk  fastened  to  the 
top  of  a  stake.  Enough  of  modern  technical  appliances  are  mingled 
with  this  thoroughly  aboriginal  process  to  mark  a  sharp  contrast 
between  the  woman's  fingers  and  her  beautiful  basket  on  the  one  hand, 

and  her  loom-woven  clothing,  her  flat- 
iron,  and  the  iron  hinges  on  her  door 
on  the  other  hand. 

The  upper  figure  is  from  the  Attu 
Island,  also  weaving  a  grass  wallet  in 
twined  work  in  front  of  her  under 
ground  home  or  barabara.  It  is  most 
interesting  to  observe  that  her  work  is 
supported  from  a  stick  in  the  top  of  the 
house,  and  is  mounted  precisely  as  one 
shown  in  Plate  1,  of  Holmes's  Prehis 
toric  Textile  Art,  taken  from  Hariot/' 
and  illustrating  industries  of  the  eastern 
Indians  at  the  period  of  discovery. 

According  to  the  relation  of  the  weft  elements  to  one  another  and 
to  the  warp,  different  structures  in  twined  weaving  result  as  follows: 

1.  Plain  twined  weaving  over  single  warps. 

2.  Diagonal  twined  weaving  or  twill  over  two  or  more  warps. 

:>>.  Wrapped  twined  weaving,  or  bird-cage  twine,  in  which  one  weft  element 
remains  rigid  and  the  other  is  wrapped  about  the  crossings. 

4.  Lattice-twined  weaving,  tee    or  Hudson  stitch,  twined  work  around  vertical 
warps  crossed  by  horizontal  warp  element. 

5.  Three-strand  twined  weaving  and  braiding  in  several  styles. 

1.  Plain  Punned  weaving. — Plain  twined  weaving  is  a  refined  sort  of 
wattling  or  crating.  The  ancient  engineers,  Avho  built  obstructions  in 
streams  to  aid  in  catching  or  impounding  fish,  drove  a  row  of  sticks 
into  the  bottom  of  the  stream,  a  few  inches  apart.  Vines  and  brush 
were  woven  upon  these  upright  sticks  which  served  for  a  warp.  In 
passing  each  stake  the  two  vines  or  pieces  of  brush  made  a  half  turn 
on  each  other.  This  is  a  A^ery  primitive  mode  of  weaving.  Plain 
twined  basketry  is  made  on  exactly  the  same  plan.  There  is  a  set  of 
warp  elements  which  may  be  reeds,  or  splints,  or  string,  arranged 
radially  on  the  bottom  and  parallel  on  the  body.  The  weft  consists 


« Thirteenth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  1896,  Plate  1. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


233 


of  two  strips  of  root  or  other  flexible  material,  and  these  are  twisted 
as  in  forming  a  two-strand  rope  passing  over  a  warp  stem  at  each 
half  turn.  (See  tig.  1s^)  Many  wastebaskets  are  woven  on  this  plan. 

Plate  19  shows  two  bowls  in  plain  twined  weaving,  called  Bamtush 
by  the  Pomos,  which  are  excellent  examples  of  the  possibilities  and 
limitations  of  this  style.  They  are  in  the  collection  of  0.  P.  Wilcomb, 
of  San  Francisco.  The  upper  figure,  10  inches  in  diameter,  is  from 
Cloverdale,  Russian  River,  Sonoma  County;  the  lower  from  Potter 
Valley,  in  Mendocino  County.  The  warp  is  of  willow  rods,  the  weft 
of  carex  root  and  splints 
of  cercis.  A  small  space 
at  the  bottom  is  in  three- 
ply  braid  and  the  nar 
row  band  near  the  top, 
with  wide  twists,  is  plain 
twined  work  over  more 
than  one  warp  stem.  (See 
Plates  34,  M,  71,  72.) 

In  this  connection  must 
not  be  overlooked  a  va 
riety  of  twined  wreaving 
in  which  the  warp  plays 
an  important  part.  It  is 
a  transition  between  the 
plain  twine  and  the  next 
type,  the  halves  of  the 
double  warp  standing  for 
the  independent  warp 
stems  of  the  diagonal 
weave.  If  the  weft  be 
administered  in  open 
work  with  the  rows  from 
a  fourth  to  a  half  an  inch 
apart  and  the  warp  ele 
ments  be  flexible  under 
the  strain  of  weaving,  they  will  assume  a  zigzag  shape. 

Pleasing  varieties  of  this  type  of  twined  weaving  will  be  found  in 
the  Aleutian  Islands.  Uu^Uur.  !•'».)  It  resembles  hemstitching.  The 
Aleuts  frequently  use^f or  their  warp  stems  of  wild  rye  or  other  grasses, 
in  which  the  straws  are  split,  or  a  pair  used,  and  the  two  halves  pass 
upward  in  zigzag  form.  Each  half  of  a  warp  is  caught  alternately 
with  the  other  half  of  the  same  straw  and  with  a  half  of  the  adjoining 
straw,  making  a  series  of  triangular  instead  of  rectangular  spaces. 
(See  fig!°K.) 

A  still  further  variation  is  given  to  plain  twined  ware  by  crossing 


I 


FIG.  16. 

OPENWORK  TWINED  WALLET. 

Aleutian  Islands. 

Cat.  NO.  U978.  U.S.N..1W,      r^llanted  frr  W    TT    Tip  11 


234 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 


the  warps.  In  bamboo  basketry  of  eastern  Asia  these  crossed  warps 
are  also  interlaced  or  held  together  by  a  horizontal  strip  of  bamboo 
passing  in  and  out  in  ordinary  weaving.  In  such  examples  the  inter 
stices  are  triangular,  but  in  the  twined  example  here  described  the 
weaving  passes  across  between  the  points  where  the  warps  intersect 


FIG.  17. 

TWINED  OPENWORK. 

Aleutian  Islands. 


FIG.  18. 

CROSSED. WARP,  TWINED  WEAVE. 
Makah  Indians,  Washington. 


each  other,  leaving  hexagonal  interstices.  (See  fig.'  18  an4r-£late  166.) 
This  combination  of  plain  twined  weft  and  crossed  warp  has  not  a  wide 
distribution  in  America,  but  examples  are  to  be  seen  in  southeastern 
Alaska  and  among  relics  found  in  Peruvian  graves. 

2.  Diagonal  twined  weaving. — In  diagonal  twined  weaving  the  twist 
ing  of  the  weft  filaments  is  precisely  the 
same  as  in  plain  twined  weaving.  The  differ 
ence  of  the  texture  is  caused  by  the  manner 
in  which  the  weft  crosses  the  warps.  This 
style  abounds  among  the  Ute  Indians  and 
the  Apache,  who  dip  the  bottles  made  in 
this  fashion  into  pitch  and  thus  produce  a 
water-tight  vessel,  the  open  meshes  receiv 
ing  the  pitch  more  freely.  The  technic  of 
the  diagonal  weaving  consists  in  passing 
over  two  or  more  warp  elements  at  each 
turn,  just  as  in  weaving  with  a  single  ele 
ment.  But  the  warp  of  the  diagonal  twined 
weaving  never  passes  over  or  under  more  than  one  weft  as  it  does  in 
twilled  weaving.  There  must  be  an  odd  number  of  warps,  for  in  the 
next  round  the  same  pairs  are  not  included  in  the  half  turns.  The 
ridges  on  the  outside,  therefore,  are  not  vertical  as  in  plain  weaving, 
but  pass  diagonally  over  the  surface,  hence  the  name.  (See  Plate"  20, 
and  figs.  1^  and  $0.) 


FKJ.  19. 
DIAGONAL  TWINED   WEAVING. 

I'te  Indians,  Utah. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


235 


FIG. 


DIAGONAL  TWINED   BASKETRY. 

Porno  Indians,  California. 
Collection  of  O.  P.  Wihroinb. 


Plate  20  will  make  clear  the  difference  between  plain  twined  weav 
ing  and  diagonal  twined  or  twilled  work.  The  figures  are  of  the  bur 
den  basket,  the  granary,  and  the  mush  bowls  of  the  Porno  Indians,  in 
Lake,  Sonoma,  and  Mendocino  counties,  California,  in  the  collection 
of  C.  P.  Wilcomb.  Especial  attention 
is  here  drawn  to  the  infinitely  greater 
possibilities  of  decoration  in  the  twilled 
work.  The  foregoing  plate  shows  that 
the  ornamentation  of  plain  twined 
basketry  is  confined  chiefly  to  bands, 
but  here  the  artist  revels  in  the  cycloid, 
which  widens  and  becomes  more  intri 
cate  as  it  ascends.  It  rivals  in  com 
plexity  the  best  coiled  work  of  the 
Pomos  and  should  be  compared  with 
Plates  29  and  56. 

3.  Wrapped  twined  weaving. — In 
wrapped  twined  weaving  one  element 
of  the  twine  passes  along  horizontally 
across  the  warp  stems,  usually  on  the 
inside  of  the  basket,  forming  a  lattice.  The  binding  element  of  splint, 
or  strip  of  bark,  or  string,  is  wrapped  around  the  crossings  of  the 
horizontal  element  with  the  vertical  warp.  (See  fig )%!..) 

On  the  outside  of  the  basket  the  turns  of  the  wrapping  are  oblique; 

on  the  inside  they  are  vertical.  It 
will  be  seen  on  examining  this  fig 
ure  that  one  row  inclines  to  the 
right,  the  one  above  it  to  the  left, 
and  so  on  alternately.  This  was 
occasioned  by  the  weaver's  passing 
from  side  to  side  of  the  square  car- 
lying  basket,  and  not  all  the  way 
round  as  usual.  The  work  is  simi 
lar  to  that  in  an  old-fashioned  bird 
cage,  where  the  upright  and  hori 
zontal  wires  are  held  in  place  by  a 
wrapping  of  finer  soft  wire.  The 
typical  example  of  this  wrapped  or 
bird -cage  twine  is  to  be  seen  among 
the  Makah  Indians  of  the  Wakashan  family  living  about  Neah  Bay, 
Washington,  and  in  the  soft  hats  of  Salish  and  Shapaptian.  (See  fig.'a^.) 
In  this  type  the  warp  and  the  horizontal  strip  behind  the  warp  are 
both  in  soft  material.  The  wrapping  is  done  with  a  tough  straw- 
colored  grass.  When  the  weaving  is  beaten  home  tight  the  surface  is 
not  unlike  that  of  a  fine  tiled  roof,  the  stitches  overlying  each  other 


FIG.  a. 

WRAPPED  TWINED  WEAVING. 


236  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

with  perfect  regularity.  Such  a  .simple  style  of  fastening-  warp  and 
weft  tog-ether  would  seem  to  have  occurred  to  tribes  of  savages  in 
many  parts  of  the  world.  Strange  to  relate,  however,  excepting  in 
Washington  and  the  ocean  side  of  Vancouver  Island,  the  process  is  not 
known.  The  exception  to  this  statement  is  to  be  found  in  a  few  spo 
radic  cases  where,  perhaps,  Nutka  and  Makah  women  had  married  into 
adjoining  tribes.  \  A  few  of  the  Salish  women  make  similar  ware,  and 
it  will  be  seen  in  basket  hats  of  the  Nez  Perce  Indians.  A  small  col 
lection  of  this  ware  came  to  the 
Museum  through  the  AVilkes  J£A- 
ploring  Expedition,  but  the  orna 
mentation  is  decidedly  Skokomish. 
Figs.  23  and  24  show  the  detail 
of  mixed  twined  weaving,  diago 
nal  twined  weaving,  and  wrapped 
twined  weaving,  inside  and  outside 
view.  The  facility  with  which 
the  basket  maker  combines  these 
weaves  in  the  same  texture  gives 
her  complete  control  over  her  mate 
rial  in  the  matter  of  ornamentation. 
Fl<;  "•  The  coloring  of  the  two  sides  of 

WRAPPED    TWINED     WEAVING.  ,1  i  •      ,  ,.  , 

the  splints  ot  cercis  shows,  in  the 

Makah  Indians.  Washington. 

figures,  the  difference  between  the 

outside  and  the  inside  of  the  basket.  Another  element  of  technic,  not 
mentioned  hitherto,  is  made  apparent  here  in  the  requirements  of 
these  three  different  styles  of  workmanship  controlling  the  space 
somewhat  of  the  warp  rods.  Perhaps  in  no  other  tribe  than  the  Porno 
is  there  such  free  use  of  any  number  of  textile  methods  on  the  same 
piece  of  workmanship  to  secure  different  results. 

It  is  possible  to  combine  the  several  methods  of  twined  weaving 
and,  calling  the  aid  of  color,  to  produce  good  effects  even  in  unpromis 
ing  materials.  Figs.  25  and  26  show  back  and  front  of  a  square  from 
a  Ute  basket  jar.  The  first  two  rows  are  plain  twined  work,  then 
come  three  rows  of  plain  twined  work  also,  though  it  does  not  look 
like  it.  It  incloses  warp  stems  in  pairs,  and  the  back  and  front  are 
alike.  It  changes  to  diagonal  merely  by  alternating  warps.  Below 
these  three  rows  are  diagonal  twine,  wrapped  twine,  or  Makah  weave, 
combined  with  diagonal.  Plate  21  contains  five  figures,  all  in  diagonal 
twined  weaving.  They  were  made  by  the  Ute  Indians  and  collected 
long  ago  by  Major  J.  W.  Powell.  They  represent  first  of  all  the  dif 
ferent  results  of  the  same  technical  process  in  varied  materials.  The 
specimens  are  all  woven  precisely  alike.  Fig.  1  has  a  coarse,  inflexible 
warp.  Fig.  2  has  a  finer  warp,  and  hence  the  twists  may  be  driven 
closer  home.  Fig.  4  shows  the  adaptation  of  modern  shape  in  facili- 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


237 


tating  the  carrying.  In  fig1.  5  a  fine  weft  assumes  a  diagonal  shape  in 
being  twisted,  while  fig.  3  is  the  last  word  in  the  story  of  the  water  jar. 
4.  Lattice-twined  weaving. — The  lattice-twined  weaving,  so  far  as 
the  collections  of  the  National  Museum  show,  is  confined  to  the  Porno 
Indians,  of  the  Kulanapan  family,  residing  on  Russian  River,  Cali 
fornia.  It  is  so  called  because  it  has  a  vertical  and  a  horizontal  warp 


FIG.  23. 

DETAIL  OF  MIXED  TWINED  WEAVING. 
(Outside.) 


name. 


resembling  latticework.  Dr.  J.  W.  Hudson  calls  this  technic  tee. 
This  is  a  short  and  convenient  word,  and  may  be  used  for  a  specific 
The  tee-twined  weaving  consists  of  four  elements,  (a)  the 


upright  warp  of  rods,  (I)  a  horizontal  warp  crossing  these  at  right 
angles,  and  (0,  d)  a  regular  plain-twined  weaving  of  two  elements, 
holding  the  warps  firmly  together.  (See  fig.  3<.) 

In  all  these  examples  in  the  National  Museum  the  horizontal  or  f 
extra  warp  is  on  the  exterior  of  the  basket.     On  the  outside  the  tee  ! 


FIG.  24. 

DETAIL  OP  MIXED  TWINED  WEAVING. 

(Inside.) 


basket  does  not  resemble  the  ordinary  twined  work,  but  on  the  inside 
it  is  indistinguishable.  Baskets  made  in  this  fashion  arc  very  rigid 
and  strong,  and  frequently  the  hoppers  of  mills  for  grinding  acorns, 
and  also  water-tight  jars,  are  thus  constructed.  The  ornamentation  is 
confined  to  narrow  bands,  the  artist  being  restricted  by  the  technic. 


238 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 


FIG.  2). 

VAEIETY   IN   TWINED    WEAVING. 

(Outside.) 
American  Anthropologist,  111,1901,  fitf.  18. 


Plate  22  shows  two  examples  of  tee  weaving.     The  upper  one,  19 

inches' in  diameter,  is  from  Pinole,  rancheria,  Mendocino  County,  Cali 
fornia.  The  lower  one  is  from 
Lake  County,  and  both  are  in 
the  collection  of  C.  P.  Wilcomb. 
The  warp  is  in  stems  of  the  wil 
low,  the  dull  colored  material  of 
the  weft  is  the  root  of  sedge, 
the  brown  and  very  white  colors 
are  in  the  stem  of  cercis — the 
former  color  being  outside  bark, 
the  latter  of  wood  next  to  the 
bark.  (See  also  Plate  173. ) 

The  technic  of  these  two  bas 
kets  is  as  follows:  Beginning  at 
the  upper  edge  there  is  no  spe 
cial  border,  the  ends  of  the  warp 
stems  being  cut  off;  tAvo  or  three 
rows  of  plain  twined  weaving 
are  at  the  top;  just  below  will 
be  seen  three  or  four  rows  of 
alternating  brown  and  white 
rectangles;  these  are  also  in 

plain  twined  weaving,  although  the  twists  pass  over  two  or  three  warp 

stems  instead  of  one;  after  that  twined  tee  weaving  follows  over  the 

entire  surface.    With  an  ordinary 

hand  glass  the  two  sets  of  warp, 

vertical    and   horizontal,   can    be 

made   out,   and   also  the  way   in 

which  the  weft  of  thin  splints  is 

administered.     The  limitations  of 

ornament   to   the    narrow   bands 

with  triangles  and  parallelograms 

for  the  elements  are  clearly  seen. 

On  the  plain  bands  a  form  of  orna 
ment  wrill  be  noted,  in  which  splints 

of  cercis  unite  with  those  of  sedge 

root   to   form   an  alternation   of 

wood  color  and  very  white.     In 

the  colored  bands  the  effects  are 

produced   by  exposing   now  the 

outside  or  bark  of  the  cercis,  now 

the  inside  or  wood  color.     No  at 
tempt  has  been  made  to  change  the  color  of  these  splints  artificially. 
5.  TJiree-strand  twined  weaving. — Three-strand  twined  weaving  is  the 


FIG.  26. 
VARIETY  IN  TWINED  WEAVING. 

(Inside.) 
American  Anthropologist,  III,  1901,  flg.  21. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


239 


use  of  three  weft  splints  and  other  kinds  of  weft  elements  instead  of 
two,  and  there  are  four  ways  of  administering1  the  weft: 

(a)  Three-strand  twine. 

(Jj)  Three-strand  braid. 

(c)  Three-strand,  false  embroidery,  Tlinkit. 

(d)  Frapped  twine,  Thompson  River. 

It  will  be  seen  in  studying-  these  four  methods  that  they  are  partly 
structural  and  partly  ornamental,  especially  the  last  two.  Inasmuch, 
however,  as  the  Indian  woman 
makes  her  ornamental  work  a 
part  of  her  industrial  work,  the 
four  methods  may  be  all  studied 
here.  Very  little  was  known 
among*  the  American  aborigines 
concerning  additional  ornaments 
given  to  the  textile  after  the 
foundation  was  woven.  The  part 
which  furnishes  strength  to  the 
fabric  and  that  which  gives  deco 
ration  were  in  technic  one  and 
the  same  process. 

(a)  Three-strand  twine. — In 
this  technic  the  basket-weaver  holds  in  her  hand  three  weft  elements 
of  any  of  the  kinds  mentioned.  In  twisting  these  three,  each  one 
of  the  strands,  as  it  passes  inward,  is  carried  behind  the  warp  stem 
adjoining,  so  that  in  a  whole  revolution  the  three  weft  elements  have 


FIG. 


TEE    OR    LATTICE-TWINED   WEAVING. 

Porno  Indians,  California, 
ricau  Anthropologist,  111.  1901,  fig.  22. 


FIG.  28. 
THR3E-STRAND   BRAID  AND  TWINED  WORK. 

(Outside.) 


FIG. 
THREE-STRAND   BUAID   AM)  TWINED   WORK. 

(Inside.) 
American  Anthropologist,  III,  1801,  «R.  24. 


in  turn  passed  behind  three  warp  elements.  After  that  the  process  is 
repeated.  By  referring  to  the  lower  halves  of  figs.  '^  and  3$,  the 
outside  and  the  inside  of  this  technic  will  be  made  plain.  On  the  out 
side  there  is  the  appearance  of  a  three-strand  string  laid  along  the  warp 
stems,  while  on  the  inside  the  texture  looks  like  a  plain  twined  weaving. 


240 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 


The  reason  for  this  is  apparent,  since  in  every  third  revolution  one 
element  passes  behind  the  warp  and  two  remain  in  front.  Three- 
strand  twined  work  is  seldom  used  over  the  entire  surface  of  a  basket. 
In  fig.  30  will  be  seen  the  drawing-  of  a  very  old  piece  of  twined  work 
from  the  ancient  Hopi  or  Moki  Pueblo.  The  bottom  of  this  old  basket 
jar  and  a  portion  of  the  body,  as  will  be  seen,  are  covered  with  plain 
twine  weft.  The  shoulder  and  neck  and  two  bands  of  the  bodv  are  in 
three-strand  twined  weaving-.  A  small  portion  of  the  inside,  seen  in 
the  top  of  the  drawing,  as  will  be  seen,  has  the  appearance  of  small  two- 
strand  twined  work.  In  tig.  31  is  shown  a  square  inch  from  the  sur- 


FIG.  30. 

BASKET-JAR  IN*  THREE-STRAND  TWINE. 
Hopi  Indians,  Arizona. 


face  of  this  jar,  enlarged  to  make  plain,  the  appearance  of  the  two  types 
of  technic.  The  upper  portion  of  the  figure  has  all  the  appearance  of 
twilled  and  twined  work  in  two-strand  weft.  The  three-strand  work 
shown  in  this  figure  is  a  Ute  motive.  The  U.  S.  National  Museum  col 
lections  represent  at  least  seven  different  styles  of  basketry  technic 
attributed  to  the  Hopi  people  of  Tusayan,  and  philologists  have  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  Hopi  are  a  very  mixed  people. 

(//)  Three-strand  braid. — In  three-strand  braid  the  weft  elements  are 
held  in  the  hand  in  the  same  fashion,  but  instead  of  being  twined 
simply  they  are  plaited  or  braided,  and  as  each  element  passes  under 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


24l 


one  and  over  the  other  of  the  remaining  two  elements,  it  is  carried 
behind  a  warp  stem.  /This  process  is  better  understood  by  examining 
the  upper  part  of  fig.  5$,  UMUiiJJl '  ^ i-  On  the  surface,  when  the  work  is 
driven  home,  it  is  impossible  to  discriminate  between  three-strand 
twine  and  three-strand  braid.  The  three-strand  braid  is  found  at  the 
starting  of  all  Porno  twined  baskets, 
no  matter  how  the  rest  is  built  up. 
Fig.  33  is  a  conical  carrying  basket 
of  the  Klamath  Indians  of  Oregon, 
collected  by  L.  S.  Dyar.  It  is  made 
of  coarse  stems  of  rushes.  The 
warp  begins  with  a  few  stems 
brought  together  to  a  point  at  the 
bottom  and  as  the  specimen  widens 
out  fresh  warp  stems  are  added. 
These  are  securely  joined  together 
by  a  continuous  coil  of  weft,  which 
is  a  three-strand  braid.  At  the  be 
ginning  these  turns  of  the  coil  touch 
one  another,  but  as  the  work  pro 
gresses  and  the  basket  widens  the 
distance  from  one  row  to  the  next  increases  until  they  are  nearly  an 
inch  apart  at  the  top.  The  braiding  is  done  from  the  outside,  two  of 
the  stems  showing  always  there  and  only  one  on  the  inside,  resembling 
common  twined  weaving.  This  is  the  only  specimen  in  the  Museum 
in  which  the  whole  surface  is  braided.  In  many  twined  baskets  of  the 


FIG.  31. 

THREE-STRAND    AND    PLAIN  TWINED   WEAVING. 


FIG.  :«. 

THREE-STRAND  I5RAID 
i>,  i«skie  . 


Porno  an  inch  or  so  at  the  bottom  is  thus  woven.  The  top  is  finished 
off  in  the  following  manner:  Three  warp  ends  are  braided  together 
for  at  least  2  inches,  turned  down  and  cut  off.  The  hook-shaped  ends 
are  held  in  place  by  a  row  of  common  twined  weaving  at  the  top. 
Just  below  this  and  close  to  the  ends  is  a  row  of  three-strand  braid. 
NAT  MUS  1902  -  16 


242  REPOET    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

Another  row  of  the  same  kind  is  made  halfway  between  the  upper 
edge  of  the  solid  weaving  and  the  border.  A  hoop  of  wood  is  held  in 
place  on  the  inside  by  a  wrapping  of  coarse  twine.  The  appearance  of 
three-strand  braid  in  the  drawing  on  the  inside  of  the  basket  is  given 
by  the  strands  of  twined  weaving  and  the  ends  of  the  warp  bent  over. 
The  basket  is  strengthened  on  the  outside  by  five  vertical  rods,  and 
the  carrying  string  is  in  three-strand  braid,  precisely  as  in  the  bod}^ 
and  margin  of  the  basket.  Height  22  inches,  diameter  23  inches.  In 
the  collection  of  Dr.  C.  Hart  Merriam  are  two  closely  woven  Klamath 
baskets  in  the  same  technic  (see  Plate  174).  Styles  (c)  and  (d)  belong 
rather  to  ornamentation  and  will  be  described  under  that  heading. 


FIG.  3,3. 
CARRYING  BASKET,  THREE-STRAND  BRAID. 

Klamath  Indians,  Oregon. 
Cat.  No.  24104,  U.S.N.M.      After  W.  H.  Holmes. 

Something  should  be  said  in  this  connection  about  the  manner  of 
laying  the  foundation  for  weaving  baskets.  In  many  of  the  specimens 
illustrated  in  this  work  it  will  be  seen  that  very  little  tasteful  care  has 
been  bestowed  upon  this  part  of  the  work.  The  Eskimos,  for  instance, 
do  not  know  how,  seemingly,  but  use  a  piece  of  rawhide,  and  it  is  said 
that  the  Indians  of  British  Columbia  formerly  inserted  a  piece  of  board 
or  wood  at  the  bottom  of  their  coiled  baskets  and  sewed  the  coils 
around  an  edge  of  it,  but  there  is  method  in  much  of  the  basket  weav 
ing  in  this  point,  as  will  be  seen  on  examining  the  plates.  Miss  Mary 


ABOBIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


243 


White,  in  her  book,  More  Baskets  and  How  to  Make  Them,  has 
worked  this  subject  out  very  carefully. a 

Figs.^^t  t(J%l),  inclusive,  show  the  result  of  her  studies. 

Fig:  %4  is  the  simplest  form  of  starting  the  bottom  of  a  basket. 
Four  warp  stems  are  arranged  in  pairs  and  crossed  at  the  center.  A 


FIG.  34. 

WARP  STEMS  CROSSED  IN  PAIRS. 
•After  Mary  Wkite. 


FIG. 

WARP  STEMS  CROSSED  IN  FOURS. 
After  Mary  White. 


strip  of  wood  or  a  flexible  stem  is  wound  twice  around  the  intersection. 
The  figure  also  shows  how  additional  warp  stems  may  be  introduced 
into  this  pattern,  being  thrust  between  the  regular  stems.  Once  they 
are  held  firmly  in  place  by  two  or  three  rows  of  common  basket  weav- 


SIXTEEN  STEMS  WOVEN  IN  FOURS. 
A.CUT  Mary  Whit.-. 


FIG.  37. 
WARP    STEMS    CROSSED    IN    FOURS 

AND  TWINED. 


ing,  additional  warp  stems  are  added,  and  they  are  bent  out  radially 
as  a  foundation  for  the  work. 

Fig.%$  shows  how  a  start  may  be  made  with  16  warp  stems  crossing 
in  groups  of  four  at  the  center.     Two  sets  begin  at  once  to  divide  and 


«How  to  make  Baskets,  New  York,  1902;  also  More  Baskets  and  how  to  make 
Them,  1903, 


244 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 


radiate,  and  after  they  are  held  together  by  three. rows  of  weft  the 
other  eight  are  spread  out  in  the  same  way.  The  drawing  illustrates 
exactly  the  manner  in  which  this  is  done. 

shows  another  method  of  beginning  with  10  warp  stems, 
plaiting  them  into  checker  pattern  at  first, 
then  afterwards  spreading  them  out  radi- 
ally-  ~-; 

Fig.  &7  brings  us  into  the  Hopi  Indian 
type  of  twined  weaving.  Here  four  stems 
in  one  direction  cross  the  same  number 
at  right  angles  and  are  held  in  place  by  a 
row  of  twined  weaving,  additional  wrarp 
stems  being  inserted  at  the  corners,  which 
spread  out  radially. 

Fig.  38  is  a  Hopi  application  of  coiled 
sewing  to  the  beginning  of  the  basket. 
In  Fig.  39  the  warp  stems  are  woven  to 
gether  in  Avickcr  work  in  two  sets;  the 
first  vertical,  the  second  horizontal.  As  soon  as  they  are  in  place  and 
held  together  the  work  proceeds  as  in  ordinary  weaving. 


FIG.  38. 

SIX   WAR!'  STEMS  PARALLEL. 
After  Mary  White. 


COILED   BASKETRY 


Coiled  basketry  is  produced  by  an  over-and-over  sewing  with  some 
i  kind  of  flexible  material,  each  stitch  interlocking  with  the  one  irmne- 
~  diately  underneath  it.  i  The  exception  to  this  is  to  be  seen  on  Salish, 
Maidu,  and  other   baskets,  in  which  the 
passing  stitch  is  driven  through  the  wood 
of  the  one  underneath  and  splits  it. 

In  the  coiled  basketry  of  British  Colum 
bia,  as  well  as  here  and  there  farther  south, 
this  splitting  of  stitches,  so  clumsy  look 
ing  when  done  without  plan,  is  turned 
into  an  element  of  beauty.  The  top  of 
each  stitch  is  carefully  bifurcated  or  tri- 
f  urcated,  so  that  to  the  uninitiated  the  sew 
ing  appears  to  have  been  done  vertically 
instead  of  horizontally.  This  type  of 
work  may  be  called  furcate  coil.  (See 
Plate  23  and  figs.  51  and  55.) 

The  specimen  (Plate  23)  is  a  remarkable  old  piece  found  near 
Death's  Valley,  California.  Diameter,  6£  inches;  depth,  4  inches; 
colors,  dark  wood,  with  line  of  brown  around  top.  This  is  one  of  the 
finest  specimens  of  furcated  stitches.  It  resembles  common  Ute  bas 
ketry  of  the  two-stem  variety,  and  in  the  sewing  the  stitches  are  not 
driven  home  tight,  but  left  as  wide  apart  as  possible.  On  the  inside 


FIG.  39. 

WARP  STEMS  CROSSED  IN  THREES;   HELD 

BY  WICKER. 
After  Mary  White. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


245 


of  the  basket  it  is  plain  coiled  sewing,  showing  the  foundation  rod 

clearhT  between  the   stitches.     Passing   the   awl  point  between  the 

stitches  on  the  inside,  it  is  carefully  pushed  through  so  as  to  divide 

the  sewing  splint  of  the  previous  coil  exactly  in  the  middle.     This 

gives  the  appearance  of  embroidery  stitches  from 

the  center  of  the  bottom  to  the  outer  margin.    This 

specimen  of  furcated  stitching  is  in  the  collection  of 

Edward  L.  McLeod.     Those  familiar  with  the  coiled 

basket  making  taught  in  the  industrial  schools  will 

compare  this  work  with  their  own,  in  which  the 

colored  rafia  is  hidden  in  the  foundation  for  a  space 

of  wrapping  and  comes  out  at  the  point  where  the 

double  stitch  is  to  be  made. 

The  transition  between  lace  work  and  coiled  bas 
ketry  is  interesting.  In  the  netted  bags  of  pita 
fiber,  common  throughout  middle  America,  in  the 
muskemoots  or  Indian  bags  of  fine  caribou  skin 
thong  from  the  Mackenzie  River  district,  as  well  as 
in  the  lace-like  netting  of  the  Mohave  carrying 
frames  and  Peruvian  textiles,  the  sewing  and  inter 
locking  constitute  the  whole  texture,  the  woman 
doing  her  work  over  a  short  cylinder  or  spreader  of 
wood  or  bone,  which  she  moves  along  as  she  works. 
When  the  plain  sewing  changes  to  half  hitches,  or 
stitches  in  which  the  moving  part  of  the  filament  or 
twine  is  wrapped  or  served  one  or  more  times  about 
itself,  there  is  the  rude  beginning  of  point  lace  work. 
This  is  seen  in  basketry  and  soft  wallets  of  the  Mac 
kenzie  River  tribes,  the  Hopewell  mound  relics  in 
Ohio,  here  and  there  in  California,  and  especially 
among  the  Fuegians,  as  well  as  in  many  pieces  from 
various  parts  of  the  Old  World.  (See  figs.  59,  115). 

The  sewing  materials  vary  with  the  region.  In 
the  Aleutian  Islands  it  is  of  delicate  straw;  in  the 
adjacent  region  it  is  spruce  root;  in  British  Columbia 
it  is  cedar  or  spruce  root;  in  the  more  diversified 
styles  of  the  Pacific  States  every  available  material 
has  been  used — stripped  leaf,  grass  stems,  rushes, 
split  root,  broad  fillets,  and  twine,  the  effect  of  each 
being  well  marked.  The  gathering  and  preparation 
of  these  materials  for  use  have  already  been  described  in  the  first  por 
tion  .of  this  paper.  It  is  understood  that,  as  in  woven  basketry,  the 
grasses,  roots,  and  splints  of  wood  are  soaked  in  water  and  kept  as 
pliable  as  possible  until  the  work  is  done. 

In  all  coiled  basketry,  properly  so  called,  there  is  a  foundation  more 


FIG.  40. 

BONE    AAVL    FOR    COILED 

BASKETRY. 

Collected  by  Edward 

Palmer. 


246  REPOKT    OF   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,   1902. 

or  less  rigid,  inclosed  within  stitches,  the  only  implement  being  an  awl 
of  some  kind.  Fig.  40  shows  the  metatarsal  of  an  antelope  sharpened 
in  the  middle  and  harder  portion  of  the  column,  the  joint  serving  for 
a  grip  for  the  hand.  It  was  the  universal  prehistoric  sewing  imple 
ment  of  savage  women  and  persists  to  our  dny. 

In  every  living  tribe  of  basket  makers  these  awls  are  among  the  com 
monest  of  woman's  tools,  most  serviceable  in  sewing  garments  as  well. 
They  are  dug  up  in  mounds,  found  in  caves,  and  are  rarel}r  absent  from 
the  work  baskets  of  mummies  in  the  arid  regions/' 

Frank  H.  Gushing  was  of  the  opinion  that  the  bone  awl  was  far 
better  for  fine  basket  work  than  any  implement  of  steel;  the  point, 
being  a  little  rounded,  would  find  its  way  between  the  stitches  of  the 
coil  underneath  and  not  force  itself  through  them.  The  iron  awl, 
being  hard  and  sharp,  breaks  the  texture  and  gives  a  very  rough  and 
clumsy  appearance  to  the  surface,  as  will  be  seen  in  fig.  51. 

Coiled  basketry  in  point  of  size  presents  the  greatest  extreme. 
There  are  specimens  delicately  made  that  will  pass  through  a  lady's 
finger  ring,  and  others  as  large  as  a  flour  barrel;  some  specimens 
have  stitching  material  one-half  inch  wide,  as  in  the  Pima  granaries, 
and  in  others  the  root  material  is  shredded  so  fine  that  nearly  100 
stitches  are  made  within  an  inch  of  space.  In  form  the  coiled  ware 
may  be  perfectly  flat,  as  in  a  table  mat,  or  built  up  into  the  most 
exquisite  jar  shape.  In  design  the  upright  stitches  lend  themselves  to 
the  greatest  variety  of  intricate  patterns. 

Coiled  basketry  may  be  divided  into  ten  varieties,  based  on  struc 
tural  characteristics. 

The  foundation  of  the  coil  may  be  (1)  a  single  element,  either  splint, 
or  stem,  or  rod;  (2)  a  stem  or  other  single  element,  with  a  thin  welt 
laid  on  top  of  it;  (3)  two  or  more  stems  one  over  another;  (4)  two 
stems  or  other  elements  laid  side  by  side,  with  or  without  a  welt;  (5) 
three  stems  in  triangular  position;  (6)  a  bundle  of  splints  or  small 
stems;  (7)  a  bundle  of  grass  or  small  shreds. 

The  stitches  pass  around  the  foundation  in  progress  (1)  interlocking 
with  and  sometimes  splitting  stitches,  but  not  inclosing  the  founda 
tion  underneath;  (2)  under  one  rod  of  the  coil  beneath,  however  man}7 
there  may  be;  (3)  under  a  welt  of  the  coil  beneath;  (4)  through  splints 
or  other  foundation,  in  some  cases  systematically  splitting  the  sewing 
material  underneath.  With  these  explanations  it  is  possible  to  make 
the  following  ten  varieties  of  coiled  basketry,  matting,  or  bagging: 

A.  Coiled  work  without  foundation. 

B.  Simple  interlocking  coils. 

C.  Single-rod  foundation. 

D.  Two-rod  foundation. 

"Smithsonian  Report,  1882,  p.  724,  fig.  3. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY 


247 


E.  Rod  and  welt  foundation. 

F.  Two-rod  and  splint  foundation. 

G.  Three-rod  foundation. 
II.  Splint  foundation. 

I.  Grass-coil  foundation. 

K.  Fuegian  coiled  basketry 

These  will  now  be  taken  up  systematically  and  illustrated. 


(See 


A.  Coiled  work  without  foundation.  —  Specimens  of  this  class  have 
been  already  mentioned.  The  sewing  material  is  babiche  or  fine  raw 
hide  thong  in  the  cold  north,  or  string  of  some  sort  farther  south.  In 
the  Mackenzie  Basin  will  be  found  the  former,  and  in  the  tropical  and 


FIG.  41.         ;    A  ~  T 

CROSS  SECTIONS  OF  VARIETIES  IN   COILED  BASKETRY. 

subtropical  areas  the  latter.  If  a  plain,  spiral  spring  be  coiled  or 
hooked  into  one  underneath,  the  simplest  form  of  the  open  coiled 
work  will  result.  An  improvement  of  this  is  effected  when  the 
moving  thread  in  passing  upward  after  interlocking  is  twined  one  or 
more  times  about  its  standing  part.  (See  fig&.  if  A  aacHOO.) 

The  technical  process  just  mentioned  is  practiced  among  the  Atha 
pascan  tribes  of  the  Mackenzie  River  drainage.  It  is  doubtful  whether 
anciently  the  predecessors  of  these  Indian  women  did  such  fine  work 
in  rawhide.  The  steel-bladed  knife  made  slender  babiche  possible, 
and  the  thrift  brought  about  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  made  it 
desirable.  But  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Mound-builders  had  the  weave 
and  could  produce  in  flax  texture  even  more  delicate  than  the  muske- 
moots  or  hunting  bags  of  the  northern  tribes. 


248 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 


Flo-.  42  represents  a  carrying1  frame  and  net  of  the  Pima  and  other 
tribes  on  our  Mexican  border.      It  is  supported  by  a  rude  framework 

of  sticks.  The  network  is  of  agave 
twine  and  is  made  of  interlocking 
coils,  looking-  as  all-coiled  bas 
ketry  would,  if  the  foundation 
were  removed. 

Further  on  illustrations  will  be 
given  showing  the  wide  extent  of 
this  technical  process  of  coiled 
basketry  without  foundation.  Ex 
amples  in  the  U.  S.  National  Mu 
seum  come  from  as  far  south  as 
Paraguay  and  even  the  Straits  of 
Magellan.  It  is  in  common  use  as 
far  north  as  northern  Mexico. 
Both  the  possession  of  different 
material  and  the  demands  of  a 
tropical  life  have  occasioned  the 
employment  of  this  particular 
technic  in  articles  of  common  use 
about  the  household.  Its  relation 
to  coiled  basketry  and  bead  work 
is  shown  by  the  fact  that  women 
in  making  the  fabric  use  a  nee 
dle  to  cariy  the  thread  or  string 
around  through  the  row  of  work 
preceding.  A  small  rod  or  mesh 
gauge  is  used  to  secure  uniformity  in  the  size  of  the  meshes. 

B.  Simple  interlocking  coil*. — Coiled  work  in  which  there  may  be 
any  sort  of  foundation,  but  the  stitches 
merely  interlock  without  catching  under  the 
rods  or  splints  or  grass  beneath.  This  form 
easily  passes  into  those  in  which  the  stitch 
takes  one  or  more  elements  of  the  founda 
tion,  but  in  a  thorough  ethnological  study 
small  differences  can  not  be  overlooked. 
(See  fig.  ^%.) 

Fig.  43  represents  this  st}^le  of  workman 
ship  on  a  coiled  basket  in  grass  stems  from 
Alaska,  collected  by  Lucien  M.  Tu rner.  The 
straws  for  sewing  merely  interlock  without 

,  n 

gathering  the  grass  roll. 

In  the  imbricated  basket  work  of  British  Columbia  and  Washing 
ton  the  sewing  is  done  with  splints  of  cedar  root  and  the  stitches 


FIG.  42. 

CARRYING    BASKET. 

Pima  Indians,  Arizona. 
Cat.  No.  12M80.  U.S.N.M.     Collected  by  Edward  Palmer. 


FIG.  43. 
DETAIL  OF  INTERLOCKING 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


249 


interlock.  Two  quite  distinct  styles  of  foundation  are  used,  namely, 
bundles  of  splints  taken  from  the  more  brittle  and  rough  interior  of 
the  cedar  root,  and  two  flat  strips  of  the  smooth  layer  on  the  outside 
of  the  root.  The  surface  of  the  one  will  be  rugose,  of  the  other,  flat 
and  smooth.  (See  figs.  52,  53,  and  54  and  Plates  156-161.) 

Figs.  44  and  45  represent  a  type  of  coiled  work  in  vogue  among 
the  Mescalero  Apaches.  As  has  been  said  previously,  the  Apache 
Indians,  who  live  in  the  arid  regions  of  Arizona,  made  the  foundations 
of  their  coiled  basketry  of  hard  rods.  In  various  tribes  these  rods 
are  arranged  in  a  foundation  after  different  patterns.  It  will  be  seen 
by  examining  the  drawing  here  given  that  three  rods  form  the  basis 
of  the  coil.  They  are  laid  one  on  another  in  a  vertical  row,  the 


PIG.  44. 

FOUNDATION  OF  THREE  RODS  LAID  VERTICAL!,?. 
Mescalero  Apache  Indians. 

stitches  simply  interlocking  so  that  the  greatest  economy  of  work  is 
effected.  It  is  not  known  that  any  other  tribe  in  America  practices 
this  peculiar  arrangement  of  the  foundation  rods.  This  specimen, 
Cat.  No.  211941,  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  was  collected  by 
F.  M.  Covert. 

Plate  24  shows  a  style  of  coiled  weaving  called  openwork.  This 
specimen,  in  the  collection  of  C.  E.  Rumsey,  Riverside,  California,  is 
termed  a  grasshopper  basket,  but  it  belongs  to  a  type  of  technic  that  has 
a  very  wide  distribution,  and  probably  has  nothing  to  do  with  holding 
liye  insects.  The  foundation  is  a  bundle  of  shredded  material  or  grass. 
The  sewing  is  a  splint  of  hard  wood.  This  is  wrapped  a  certain  number 
of  times  around  the  foundation  and  then  caught  under  the  sewing  of  the 
coil  underneath,  the  stitches  interlocking.  Perhaps  a  few  bits  of  the 


250 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 


(If  If 

FIG.  45. 
DETAIL  OF  FIG.  44. 


foundation  are  caught  also  in  the  stitch.  After  two  stitches  are  made 
in  this  way  the  wrapping  continues.  It  is  possible  by  counting  this  last 
as  well  as  the  number  of  stitches  to  reproduce  beautiful  patterns  on 
the  surface.  The  ornamentation  also  may  be  varied  by  the  use  of 
different  colored  splints.  This  specimen  is  from  the  Watchumna 
(Mariposan)  Indians  of  middle  California,  but  examples  are  in  the 
r.r,^7™  „___  National  Museum  collected  from 

Illli  I 


Norway,  Porto   Rico,  and    Peru. 
(See  Plates  224  and  248.) 

C.  Single-rod  foundation. — In 
rattan  basketry  and  Pacific  coast 
ware,  called  by  Dr.  J.  W.  Hud- 
son  tsai  in  the  Porno  language, 
the  foundation  i«  a  single  stem! 
uniform  in  diameter.  The  stitch 
passes  around  the  stem  in  prog 
ress  and  is  caught  under  the  one 
of  the  preceding  coil,  as  in  fig.  £tO-  ! 
In  a  collection  of  Siamese  basketry 
in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  the  specimens  are  all  made  after  this 
fashion.  The  foundation  is  the  stem  of  the  plant  in  its  natural  state; 
the  sewing  is  with  splints  of  the  same  material,  having  the  glistening 
surface  outward.  As  this  is  somewhat  unyielding  it  is  difficult  to 
crowd  the  stitches  together,  and  so  the  foundation  is  visible  between. 
California  is  not  far  behind  the  East  in  the  quality  of  material,  willow 
for  the  basis  of  the  coil,  and  plants 
in  a  variety  of  colors  for  the  sew 
ing.  The  Siamese  coiled  basketry 
has  little  of  design  on  its  surface, 
but  the  American  basketmaker  may 
fix  whatever  her  imagination  may 
suggest.  The  effect  of  the  plain 
stitching  is  pleasing  to  the  eye  by 
reason  of  the  regular  broken  sur 
face.  In  America  single- rod  bas 
ketry  is  widely  spread.  Along  the 
Pacific  coast  it  is  found  in  northern 
Alaska  and  as  far  south  as  the  bor 
ders  of  Mexico.  The  Porno  Indians 
use  it  in  some  of  their  finest  Avork. 

The  roots  of  plants  and  soft  stems  of  willow,  rims,  and  the  like  are 
used  for  the  sewing,  and,  being  soaked  thoroughly,  can  be  crowded 
together  so  as  to  entirely  conceal  the  foundation.  (See  fig.  4^) 

Plate  25  represents  a  collection  of  Porno  treasure   baskets,  all  in 
single-rod  foundation,  called  tsai  by  Dr.  Hudson  and  bam  tsha  or  bam 


)KTAII,   <>!•'    S1NGI.K- 


COlf,    IN    BASKKTRY. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


251 


tshai  by  Carl  Purdy.  These  specimens  are  in  the  collection  of  C.  P. 
Wilcomb;  the  foundation  is  of  willow  rod,  the  sewing  material  of 
sedge  root,  the  design  in  the  cercis  splints,  the  decoration  with  shells, 
beads,  and  partridge  plumes.  The  method  of  sewing  is  on  all  of  these 
baskets  the  same  as  shown  in  fig.  41  C. 

Plate  26,  Cat.  No.  89801  U.S.N.M.,  is  from  Point  Barrow,  Alaska, 
and  was  collected  by  Capt.  P.  H.  Ray,  U.  S.  Army.  The  material  is 
shoots  and  roots  of  willow,  and  the  specimen  was  secured  from  Eskimo 
people  living  at  the  extreme  northern  point  of  Alaska.  It  had  evi 
dently  been  procured,  however,  from  Indians  near  by.  On  the  bot 
tom  small  rods  are  used  for  the  foundation  and  the  sewing  is  in  straight 
lines  backward  and  forward  until  this  portion  is  finished.  Here  the 
foundation  rods  are  somewhat  larger  and  the  sewing  splints  wider. 
Comparing  this  specimen,  then,  with  a  great  many  others  from  the  same 
area,  the  uniformity  in  size  of  the  foundation  rod  is  noticeable.  It 
will  also  be  noted  that  the  stitches  are 
not  driven  home  closely,  a  feature  which 
occurred  over  and  over  again  in  coiled 
basketry  between  Point  Barrow  and  the 
Republic  of  Mexico. 

D.  Two-rod  foundation. — One  rod  in 
this  style  lies  on  top  of  the  other;  the 
stitches  pass  over  two  rods  in  progress 
and  under  the   upper  one  of  the  pair 
below,  so  that  each  stitch  incloses  three 
stems  in  a  vertical  series  (flffiTnstf)      A 
little  attention  given  to  fig.  4s£ TD  will 
demonstrate  that  the  alternate  rod,  or 
the  upper  rod,  in  each  pair  will  be  in 
closed  in  two  series  of  stitches,  while  the  other  or  lower  rod  will  pass 
along  freely  in  the  middle  of  one  series  of  stitches  and  show  on  the 

^  outer  side,  j  Examples  of  this  two-rod  foundation  are  to  be  seen  among 
the  Athapascan  tribes  of  Alaska,  among  the  Porno  Indians  of  the 
Pacific  coast,  and  among  the  Apache  of  Arizona.  An  interesting 
or  specialized  variety  of  this  type  is  seen  among  the  Mescaleros  of 
New  Mexico,  who  use  the  two-rod  foundation,  but  instead  of  passing 
the  stitch  around  the  upper  rod  of  the  coil  below  simply  interlock  the 
stitches  so  that  neither  one  of  the  two  rods  is  inclosed  twice.  This 
Apache  ware  is  sewed  with  yucca  fiber  and  the  brown  root  of  the  same 

I  plant,  producing  a  brilliant  effect,  and  the  result  of  the  special  technic 
is  a  flat  surface  like  that  of  pottery.     The  U.   S.  National  Museum 
>   possesses  a  single  piece  of  precisely  the  same  technic  from  the  kindred 
I    of  the  Apache  on  the  Lower  Yukon.     4^e  ^Ss-  ^  an(^  45.) 

E.  Rod  and  welt  foundation . — In  this  kind  of  basketry  the  single- 
rod  foundation  is  overlaid  by  a  splint  or  strip  of  tough  fiber,  some- 


FlG.  47. 

FOUNDATION -OF   TWO   RODS,  VERTICAL. 


252 


BEPOKT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 


FIG.  48. 

HOD  AND   WKI.T   FOUNDATION. 


times  the  same  as  that  with  which  the  sewing  is  done;  at  others,  a  strip 

of  leaf  or  bast.     The  stitches  pass  over  the  rod  and  strip  which  are 

on  top  down  under  the  welt  only  of  the  coil  below,  the  stitches  inter 
locking.  The  strip  of  tough  fiber 
between  the  two  rods  which  serves 
for  a  welt  has  a  double  purpose — 
strengthening  the  fabric  and  chink 
ing  the  space  between  the  rods  (fig. 
48).  This  st\Tle  of  coil  work  is  seen 
on  old  Zufii  basket  jars  and  on  Cali 
fornia  examples.  This  type  of  foun 
dation  passes  easily  into  forms  C,  D, 
E,  and  F.  In  fact,  it  is  impossible 
to  distinguish  between  them  without 
marring  the  specimen.  (See  fig.  41.) 
The  specimens  shown  on  Plate  27 
are  a  water  bottle  and  a  gathering 

basket  of  the   Utes;  that  is,  they  are  of  Ute  motive.     Such  pieces, 

however,  are  often  seen  among  other  tribes  and  in  some  of  the  later 

pueblos.    By  looking  carefully  at  the  surface  of  the  pictures  it  will  be 

seen  that  there  may  be  two 

rods,  the  upper  much  smaller 

than  the  other;  or  on  the  top 

of  the  principal  rod  will  be 

a  splint  or  two  of  material. 

The  foundation  of  such  bas- 

ketiy    is     not    uniform     in 

composition,  but  in  motive 

they  are  all  the  same.     The 

strength  of  the  basket  is  in 

the  principal  rod.    The  joint 

is  made  stronger  by  having 

between  the  stitches  of  two 

coils   an    additional    rod  or 

smaller  piece.    There  are  no 

wide   gaps    separating"    any 

two  styles  of  weaving,  and 

it  will  be  easily  seen  that  this 

Ute  type  passes  readily  into 

other  forms. 

Cat.  Nos.  84596  (upper  figure),  42126  (lower  figure),  U.S.N.M. 

F.   Two-rod  and  splint  foundation. — In  this  style  the  foundation  is 

made  thicker  and  stronger  by  laying  two  rods  side  by  side  and  a  splint 

or  welt  on  top  to  make  the  joint  perfectly  tight.     The  surface  will  be 

corrugated.     Tribes  practicing  this  style  of  'coiling  generally  have  fine 


FIG.  49. 

WATER  JAR   IN  COILED   BASKETRY. 

Wolpi,  Arizona. 
Cat.  No.  42129,  U.S.N.M.    Collected  by  J.  S.  Stevenson. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


253 


material  and  some  of  the  best  ware  is  so  made  up.  j  It  passes  easily,  as 
one  might  guess,  into  the  Lillooet  style,  in  which  the  two  elements  of 
the  foundation  are  thin  and  flat.  Fig.  49  is  a  water  jar  from  the  Wolpi 
pueblo,  one  of  the  Hopi  group,  collected  long  ago  by  James  Steven 
son.  It  is  Cat.  No.  42129  U.S.N.M.,  and  was  first  figured  in  the  Second 
Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology.  (See  fig.  4t-Fr^ 

Plate  28  represents  two  fine  old  coiled  baskets  from  the  pueblo  of 
Sia,  on  the  Rio  Grande  River,  New  Mexico.  In  addition  to  the  struc 
ture,  which  consists  of  two  rods  and  a  splint  above  sewed  with  willow 
splints,  the  stitches  interlocking  and  catching  in  the  welt  below,  the 
ornamentation  a  stepped  design,  suggestive  of  pueblo  architecture  on 
the  upper  figure  and  spirals  made  up  of  colored  rectangles  on  the  lower 
figure,  needs  to  be  merely  pointed  out.  The  characteristic  sought  to  be 
illustrated  here  in  this  connection  is  the  false  braid  made  on  the  sur 
face  produced  by  sewing  a  single 
splint  in  a  figure  of  eight  weaving, 
shown  in  the  plate.  The  modern 
Indians  of  this  pueblo  do  not  make 
basketry  of  this  character,  and  it  is 
altogether  reasonable  to  think  that 
in  the  olden  times  these  pieces  came 
into  the  possession  of  these  people 
by  traffic  from  Shoshonean  tribes 
near  by.  Catalogue  No.  134213, 
U.S.N.M.  Collected  by  James  Ste 


venson. 

G .  Three-rod  foundat ion .  — This  is 
the  type  of  foundation  called  by  Carl 
Purdy  bam  shi  bu,  from  bam,  sticks, 
and  sibbu,  three.  Among  the  Porno 

and  other  tribes  in  the  western  part  of  the  United  States  the  most 
delicate  pieces  of  basketry  are  in  this  style.  Dr.  Hudson  calls  them 
"the  jewels  of  coiled  basketry."  The  surfaces  are  beautifully  cor 
rugated,  and  patterns  of  the  most  intricate  character  can  be  wrought 
on  them.  The  technic  is  as  follows:  Three  or  four  small  willow 
stems7of  uniform  thickness  serve  foj  the  foundation,  as  shown  in 
fig.  50;  also  in  cross  section  in  fig.  5^-G.  The  sewing,  which  may 
be  in  splints  of  willow,  black  or  white  carex  root,  or  cercis  stem, 
passes  around  the  three  stems  constituting  the  coil,  under  the  upper 
one  of  the  bundle  below,  the  stitches  interlocking.  In  some  examples 
this  upper  rod  is  replaced  by  a  thin  strip  of  material  serving  for  a 
welt  (see  fig.  SL.F).  In  the  California  area  the  materials  for  basketry 
are  of  the  finest  quality.  The  willow  stems  and  carex  root  are  suscep 
tible  of  division  into  delicate  filaments.  Sewing  done  with  these  is 
most  compact,  and  when  the  stitches  are  pressed  closely  together  the 


FIG.  50. 

FOUNDATION  OF  THREK   RODS,  STITCHES  CATCH 
ING    ROD  UNDERNEATH. 


254 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 


foundation  does  not  appear.  On  tho  surface  of  the  bam  shi  bu 
basketry  the  Pomo  weaver  adds  pretty  bits  of  bird  feathers  and  deli 
cate  pieces  of  shell.  Tho  basket  represents  the  wealth  of  the  maker, 

and  the  gift  of  one  of  these  to  a 
friend  is  considered  to  be  the  highest 
compliment. 

Plate  2J)  is  a  beautiful  example  of 
Bam  shi  bu  coiled  basketry,  having 
a  foundation  of  three  Bams,  or  shoots 
of  Hind's  willow  (Salix  sessilifolia). 
The  sewing  of  the  lighter  portions 
is  in  carefully  prepared  roots  of 
a  sedge,  Kahum  (Cnre^  l>arl>arae), 
while  the  designs  are  in  the  roots  of 
a  bulrush,  Tsuwish  (Scirpus  inari- 
'ti.tn-ux).  Red  feathers  of  the  Cali 
fornia  woodpecker  are  scattered  over 
the  surface.  This  faultless  speci 
men,  now  in  the  collection  of  C.  P.  Wilcomb,  was  made  in  the  year 
1800  by  Squaw  Mary,  a  noted  basket  maker,  wife  of  Ned  Dunson 
(Indian),  then  living  at  Santa  Rosa  Creek,  Sonoma  County,  California. 
She  belonged  to  the  Tsar  walo  division  of  the  Pomos.  Diameter  of 
the  basket  8f  inches,  collected  by  J.  P.  Stanley. 


FKJ. 


FOFNDATK 


Via.  52. 
IMBRICATED   WORK   DETAIL,    CALLED   KLIKITAT. 

Showing  method  of  concealing  coil  stitches. 


H.  SpUnt  foundation. — In  basketry  of  this  type  the  foundation 
consists  of  a  number  of  longer  or  shorter  splints  massed  together  and 
sewed,  the  stitches  passing  under  one  or  more  of  the  splints  in  the 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


255 


FJU.  53. 
IMBRICATED  COIL  WORK,  CALLED  KLIKITAT. 


coil  beneath  (ftg.  51).     In  the  Porno  language  it  is  called  chilo,  but  it 

has  no  standing  in  that  tribe.     In  the  Great  Interior  Basin,  where  the 

pliant  material  of  the  California  tribes  is  wanting,  only  the  outer  and 

younger  portion  of  the  stem  will  do  for  sewing.     The  interior  parts 

in  such  examples  are  made  up  into 

the  foundation.     All  such  ware  is 

rude,  and  the  sewing   frequently 

passes  through  instead  of  around 

the  stitches   below.      In   the  Kli- 

kitat  basketry  the  pieces  of  spruce 

or  cedar  root  not  used  for  sewing 

material  are  also  worked  into  the 

foundation.     (See  fig.  if  H.) 

In  a  small  area  on  Fraser  River, 
in  southwestern  Canada,  on  the 
upper  waters  of  the  Columbia,  and 
in  many  Salishan  tribes  of  north 
western  Washington,  basketry, 
called  imbricated,  is  made.  The 
foundation,  as  said,  is  in  cedar  or 
spruce  root,  while  the 'sewing  is  done  with  the  outer  and  tough  por 
tion  of  the  root;  the  stitches  pass  over  the  upper  bundle  of  splints 
and  are  locked  with  those  underneath.  On  the  outside  of  these  bas 
kets  is  a  form  of  technic,  which  also  constitutes  the  ornamentation. 
It  is  not  something  added,  or  overlaid,  or  sewed  on,  but  is  a  part  of 
the  texture  effected  in  the  progress  of  the  manufacture.  (See  fig.  £.?.) 
The  method  of  adding  this  ornamentation  in  strips  of  cherry  bark, 
cedar  bast,  and  grass  stems,  dyed  with  Oregon  grape,  is  unique,  and 

on  this  account  I  have  applied  the 
term  "imbricated"  to  the  style  of 
weave  here  shown.  (See  fig*: -53.) 

The  strip  of  colored  bark  or  grass 
is  laid  down  and  caught  under  a 
passing  stitch;  before  another  stitch 
is  taken  this  one  is  bent  forward  to 
cover  the  last  stitch,  doubled  on 
itself  so  as  to  be  underneath  the 
next  stitch,  and  so  with  each  one  it 
is  bent  backward  and  forward  so 
that  the  sewing  is  entirely  con 
cealed,  forming  a  sort  of  "  knife  plaiting." 

In  some  of  the  finer  old  baskets  in  the  National  Museum,  collected 
over  sixty  years  ago,  the  entire  surface  is  covered  with  work  of  this 
kind,  the  strips  not  being  over  an  eighth  of  an  inch  wide.  James 
Teit  describes  and  illustrates  this  type  of  weaving  among  the  Thomp- 


.      FIG.  54. 

IMBRICATED   BASKETRY    DKTAIL. 

Thompson  River. 
After  James  Teit. 


256 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 


^ivJ//     > 


FIG.  55. 
OVERLAYING  IN  COILED  WORK. 


son  River  Indians  of  British  Columbia,  Avho  arc  Salishan.  The  body 
of  the  basket  is  in  the  root  of  Thuja  plicata,  and  the  ornamentation 
in  strips  of  Elynn(8  triticoides  and  Primus  demissa.  (See  fig.  54:.) 

Imbrication  is  one  of  the  most  restricted  of  technical  processes. 
Eells  says  that  some  women  in  every  tribe  on  Puget  Sound  could  pro 
duce  the  stitch,  and  he  names  the 
Puyallups,  Twanas,  Snohomish, 
Clallam,  Makah,  Skagit,  Cowlitz, 
Chehalis,  Nisqualli,  and  Squaxon. 
It  doubtless  originated  here.  It  is 
the  native  art  of  the  Klikitat,  Yak- 
ima,  and  Spokanes,  all  of  whom 
are  of  the  Shahaptian  family.  The 
Thompson  and  Fraser  River  In 
dians  have  long  known  the  art. 
(See  Plates  (58,  74-79,  156-1H7.) 

Fig.  55  is  a  square  inch  from  the 
bottom  of  a  Fraser  River  imbri 
cated  coiled  basket.  It  illustrates 

several  important  features  in  the  basket  maker's  art.  In  the  first 
place,  the  Indians  of  this  area  did  not  know  how  to  make  a  beginning 
of  the  bottom  of  a  rectangular  basket  with  coiled  work,  so  a  block  was 
inserted  or  foundation  strips  were  laid  parallel  and  were  whipped 
together  after  the  manner  of  coiled  work.  This  figure  also  shows 
how  the  splitting  of  stitches  before 
at  first  been  accidental,  the  basket 
maker  having  in  mind  only  the  pur 
pose  of  placing  the  stitches  in  vertical 
rows.  From  this  unintentional  fur 
cation  of  the  stitches  comes  the  pur 
poseful  splitting,  the  forked  stitches 
being  made  alike  and  uniform.  Thus, 
out  of  a  careless  habit  has  come  one 
of  the  beautiful  ornamentations  in 
coiled  basketry.  A  third  purpose  in 
this  figure  is  to  show,  perhaps,  the 
initial  step  in  imbricated  work.  In 
deed,  this  form  of  overlaying  is  seen 
on  many  examples  of  it.  A  straw  of 
squaw  grass  (Xeroplnjlluin,  tenax)  is 

inclosed  under  a  stitch;  it  is  then  turned  back;  a  second  stitch  is  made 
and  the  strip  of  grass  laid  over  it.  Thus,  over  the  surface  there  is  an 
alternation  of  exposed  and  concealed  stitches  by  means  of  this  material. 
This  is  elsewhere  called  ''beading." 

I;   Grass-coil  foundation, — The  foundation  is  a  bunch  of  grass  or  rush 


mentioned  in  sewing  may  have 


FIG.  50. 
FOUNDATION  OF  STRAWS  IN  COILED 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


257 


FIG.  57. 

COIL  WITH  OPEN  SEWING  INCLOSING  PARTS 
OF  FOUNDATION. 


stems,  or  small  midribs  from  palm  leaves,  or  shredded  yucca.  The 
effect  in  all  such  ware  is  good,  for  the  reason  that  the  maker  has  per 
fect  control  of  her  material.  Excellent  examples  of  this  kind  are  to 
be  seen  in  the  southwestern  portions  of  the  United  States,  among  the 
Pueblos  and  Missions,  and  in  northern  Africa.  The  sewing  ma}^  be 
done  with  split  stems  of  hard  wood, 
willow,  rhus,  and  the  like,  or,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  Mission  baskets  in 
southern  California,  of  the  stems  of 
rushes  (Juncus  acutus)  or  stiff  grass 
(Epicampes  rig  ens).  (See  tyjOfrfr, 
the  cross  section  given  in  fig. 
L)  In  the  larger  granary  baskets 
of  the  Southwest  a  bundle  of  straws 
furnishes  the  foundation,  while  the 
sewing  is  done  with  broad  strips  of 
tough  bark,  as  in  figrfffr 

Plate  30  shows  specimens  of  Hopi 
coiled  plaques  on  shredded  founda 
tion  made  up  of  the  harder  parts  of 
the  yucca  split  and  rolled  into  a  bundle.  The  sewing  is  with  tne 
tough,  leafy  portion  and  passes  simply  under  the  coil  in  preparation, 
the  stitches  interlocking.  Between  the  refined  type  of  coiled  work 
of  this  class  and  the  old-fashioned  straw  beehive  or  the  Mohave  gran 
ary  is  a  long  distance.  These  thick  Hopi  plaques  have  their  nearest 

resemblance  in  the  Moorish  basketry 
of  North  Africa  and  leave  the  question 
on  the  mind  whether  from  long  contact 
the  Hopi  themselves  may  not  have  got 
ten  a  suggestion  therefrom.  These 
specimens  are  Cat.  Nos.  166856  and 
166858  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum 
and  were  collected  by  James  Mooney. 
(See  also  fig.  58.) 

K.  Fueyian  coiled  Ix.w'ketry. — In  this 
ware  the  foundation  is  slight,  consist 
ing,  of  one  or  more  rushes;  the  sewing 
is  in  buttonhole  stitch  or  half  hitches, 
with  rush  stems  interlocking.  The 
resemblance  of  this  to  Asiatic  types 
on  the  Pacific  is  most  striking.  (See  fig.1^).) 

Plate  31  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  specimens  of  basketry  found 
in  America,  because  in  its  structure  it  practically  imitates  the  speci 
mens  just  illustrated  from  the  Straits  of  Magellan.     It  is  described  by 
NAT  MUS  1902 17 


FIG.  58. 

FOUNDATION  OF  GRASS  OR  SHREDDED 
MATERIALS. 


258 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 


George  H.  Pepper  in  Guide  Leaflet  No.  6  of  the  American  Museum  of 
Natural  History.  It  is  called  a  "sifter,"  and  was  found  among  the 
relics  of  the  ancient  basket  makers  of  southeastern  Utah.  The  outer 
rows  of  coiling  belong  to  the  single-stick  variety.  On  the  rest  of  the 
surface  the  binding  material  in  passing  around  the  foundation  rods 
makes  a  whole  turn  on  itself  between  them.  The  basket  is  9-J-  inches 
in  diameter  and  2  inches  deep. 


WATER-TIGHT   BASKETRY 


Basketry  is  rendered  water-tight  by  closeness  of  texture  and  by 
daubing  with  pitch  or  asphaltum.  Both  twined  and  coiled  ware  are 
useful  for  this  latter  purpose.  It  is  said  of  the  mother  of  Moses  that 
she  "took  for  him  an  ark  [a  boat-shaped  basket]  of  bulrushes  and 


FIG.  59. 

FUEGIAN  COILED   BASKET,  AND  DETAILS. 


daubed  it  with  slime  and  with  pitch  and  put  the  child  therein,  and 
she  laid  it  in  the  flags  by  the  river's  brink."  (Exodus  ii,  3.)  Now, 
the  Egyptians  and  other  Hamites  of  our  day  make  coiled  basketiy  of 
type  fig.  41  1;  that  is,  with  a  foundation  of  shredded  material  sewed 
with  finely  split  palm  leaf.  The  foundation  is  quite  thick,  so  that  the 
ware  is  strikingly  like  the  Hopi  plaques  of  the  Middle  Mesa.  There  is 
no  reason  for  believing  that  the  ancient  ware  differed  from  the  modern. 
In  the  Interior  Basin  also  baskets  are  used  for  pottery  by  tribes  that 
are  not  sedentary.  (See  Plate  32.) 

Major  J.  W.  Powell,  during  his  topographical  and  geological  sur 
vey  of  the  valley  of  the  Colorado  River  of  the  West,  in  company  with 
Prof.  A.  H.  Thompson,  made  a  collection  of  water-tight  basket  work 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  259 

from  the  Paiute  Indians  (Shoshonean  family)  in  southern  Utah,  and 
additions  have  been  made  by  Dr.  Walter  Hough  and  others.  Both  coiled 
and  twined  work  are  found  in  great  varieties.  Plate  32  represents  the 
varieties  of  these  water-tight  carrying  jugs  or  bottles.  Fig.  1  of  the 
plate,  Cat.  No.  11882,  is  a  Tsai  a  wats,  in  twined  weaving,  the  pattern 
being  twilled  work.  Lugs  on  the  side  support  the  broad,  soft,  buckskin 
band.  The  pitch  is  evenly  laid  on,  just  revealing  the  texture  beneath. 
Height,  7i  inches. 

Fig.  2,  Cat.  No.  10760,  is  a  globose  jar  in  coiled  weaving,  carelessly 
done  on  a  splint  foundation,  as  among  the  Utes.  Height,  7-J-  inches. 
There  are  no  lugs  on  the  outside,  so  this  piece  would  be  a  pitcher 
rather  than  a  canteen. 

Fig.  3,  Cat.  No.  10758,  is  a  Tsai  a  wats  of  squat  form  in  single-rod 
coiled  weaving,  with  three  lugs  at  equal  distances  around  the  shoulder 
for  carrying.  Height,  4f  inches. 

Figs.  4  and  5,  Cat.  Nos.  213101-2,  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum, 
are  small  canteens,  collected  from  the  Havasupai  Indians,  in  Cat 
aract  Canyon,  by  Dr.  Walter  Hough.  They  are  precisely  the  same 
in  structure  as  the  foregoing,  though  the  Havasupai  are  of  the  Tuman 
family,  while  the  Utes  are  Shoshonean.  Height,  7-J-  inches  and  8£ 
inches. 

Fig.  6,  Cat.  No.  211020,  U.S.N.M.,  is  Paiute  water  jar  for  carrying, 
from  the  collection  of  Captain  Carr,  U.  S.  Army.  The  foundation  is 
of  splints,  and  the  pitch  is  carefully  restricted  to  the  inside.  Horse 
hair  lugs  support  the  headband  of  old  leather.  Height,  9  inches. 

Fig.  7,  Cat.  No.  11880,  U.S.N.M.,  is  an  excellent  specimen  of  twined 
work  in  twill,  with  single  rows  of  three-ply  twine  and  the  neck  in 
openwork.  In  many  examples  like  the  one  here  shown  the  melted 
pitch  or  asphaltum  is  poured  inside  and  rinsed  around  until  the  sur 
face  is  covered.  Height,  9  inches.  The  rope  handle  gives  the  appear 
ance  of  a  pitcher. 

Fig.  8,  Cat.  No.  10759,  U.S.N.M.,  is  pear  shaped  and  has  wooden 
lugs  upon  the  sides  for  the  carrying  bands.  It  is  twined  and  twilled 
weaving  and  thoroughly  overloaded  with  pitch.  The  rounded  bottom 
serves  to  keep  the  bottle  erect.  Height,  8i  inches. 

Plate  33  is  a  water  jar  of  the  White  Mountain  Apaches,  Cat.  No. 
213278,  U.S.N.M.,  collected  by  Dr.  Walter  Hough.  It  is  made  in 
diagonal  twined  weaving  and  covered  with  pitch.  Three  lugs  of  wood 
attached  to  the  sides  are  for  the  purpose  of  suspension  and  carrying. 
The  height  is  12  inches. 

BORDERS   ON   BASKETRY 

Having  studied  the  structural  processes  on  the  body  of  these  textiles, 
it  will  now  be  in  order  to  note  how  the  work  is  finished  off.  A  glance 
at  a  lady's  workbasket  or  a  waste-paper  basket  shows  how.  important 


260  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

such  an  examination  must  be.  Both  in  woven  and  in  twined  ware 
many  beautiful  specimens  will  be  seen,  whose  edges  differ  not  in  the 
slightest  degree  from  other  portions  of  the  basket.  Indeed,  the  Tlin- 
kit,  the  Porno,  and  the  Mission  weavers  all  frequently  affect  the  plain 
border  on  their  ware,  and  certain  kinds  of  plaques  of  the  Hopi 
Indians,  said  to  be  the  workmanship  of  unmarried  women,  leave  the 
foundation  exposed,  and  the  work  is  suddenly  brought  to  an  end. 

Another  fact  will  surprise  the  student,  namely,  that  technically  the 
border  is  often  in  quite  another  class  of  weave.  This  grows,  as  will 
be  seen,  out  of  the  exigencies  of  the  case.  A  checker  weaving,  with 
the  edges  left  open  all  around,  would  be  a  flimsy  affair.  Coiled  work 
lends  a  hand  in  putting  a  finish  on  woven  work;  the  latter,  or  an 
imitation  of  it,  on  the  contrary,  becomes  an  embellishment  of  the 
former.  The  drawings  and  the  plates  will  explain  more  clearly  than 
words  the  structure  of  borders.  The  motive  in  this  inquiry  should  be 
to  learn  the  steps  or  evolutionary  processes  through  which  the  inge 
nious  savage  woman's  mind  has 
passed  in  this  series  of  inven 
tions  to  discover,  if  possible,  a 
little  truth  about  the  relation 
ship  and  communication  among 
tribes  in  olden  times,  and  to  learn 
some  new  manipulations  in  an 
art  now  becoming  popular.  It 
is  like  the  breaking  out  of  an  old 
hereditary  complaint  in  the  tips 
.  GO.  of  the  fingers.  The  borders  will 

be  studied  in  the  folio  wing  order: 
The  finishing  off  in  checker  work, 
in  wicker  work,  in  twilled  work,  in  twined  work,  and  in  coiled  work. 
The  first  and  simplest  method  of  making  borders  is  illustrated  in 
examples  collected  among  the  Abenaki  Indians  of  Canada  belonging 
to  the  Algonquian  family.  The  baskets  are  made  of  splints  from  the 
ash,  formerly  worked  out  with  aboriginal  tools  (see  fig.  60),  but 
nowadays  made  by  machinery.  The  foundation  of  the  borders  con 
sists  of  three  narrow  hoops.  Every  alternate  warp  splint  is  cut  off 
flush,  the  others  are  bent  down  over  the  middle  hoop  and  pushed 
under  the  upper  row  of  weaving,  having  first  been  pointed.  Outside 
and  inside  of  this  middle  hoop  and  clasping  the  bends  in  the  warp 
splints  are  the  other  two  hoops,  the  whole  being  bound  securely 
together  by  a  coiled  sewing  in  splint.  The  specimen  here  figured  is 
Cat.  No.  206390,  U.S.N.M.,  made  by  Caroline  Masta.  Diameter,  5i 
inches;  height,  3  inches. 

The  border  of  twilled  work,  when  the  weaving  is  finished,  resembles 
closely  the  interlacing  of  a  series  of  crossed  warps.     In  matting  made 


COILED  BORDER  ON  CHECKER   WEAVING. 
Cat.  No.  206390.  U.S.N.M. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


261 


in  this  way  the  ends  of  the  warp  and  of  the  weft  are  bent  backward 
on  one  another  and  forced  under  the  texture.  In  one  example  a 
twilled  mat  is  finished  out  with  wicker  weaving,  both  sets  of  ele 
ments  being  straightened  out  for  warp.  (See  fig.  12.)  The  margin  is 
then  finished  off  as  if  the  whole  mass  had  been  in  wicker  weaving.  The 
example  here  shown  was  made  recently  by  an  Indian  woman  in  the 
Zuni  pueblo,  western  New  Mexico.  (See  fig.  61.)  The  material  is 
stripped  leaves  of  yucca,  from  which  coarse  mats,  basket  bowls,  and 
trays  are  made.  The  mat  is  woven  square  and  a  hoop  of  wood  is  pro- 


FlG.  61. 
WEFT  AND  WARP  FASTENED   DOWN  WITH  TWINE. 

(a,  front;  b,  back.) 
Cat.  No.  215488,  U.S.N.M. 

vided  for  the  border.  The  mat  is  forced  down  into  it,  the  ends  of  the 
warp  and  weft  cut  off  about  an  inch  above  the  hoop.  They  are  then 
bent  down  on  the  outside  in  groups  of  fours  and  held  in  place  with 
one  row  of  twined  weaving,  as  shown  in  the  accompanying  drawing, 
giving  both  front  and  back  view.  The  basket  is  the  gift  of  Mr.  G.  B. 
Haggett.  Diameter,  11  inches.  Cat.  No.  215488,  U.S.N.M. 

In  the  simplest  forms  of  wicker  work  the  ends  of  the  warp  are  all 
cut  off  in  uniform  lengths  and  each  bent  down  by  the  side  of  the  next 
warp,  or  behind  one  warp  and  down  beside  the  second  warp,  or  is 
woven  behind  and  in  front  of  the  other  warp  stems  with  greater  or 


262  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

less  intricacy,  forming  a  rope  pattern  on  the  outside.  So  much  of 
wicker  basketry  as  originated  with  the  Indians  is  very  simple  in  the 
matter  of  finishing.  Cat.  No.  215487  shows  how  this  sort  of  work  is 
done.  The  basket  is  the  work  of  the  Zufii  Indians,  New  Mexico,  and 
is  the  gift  of  Mr.  G.  B.  Haggett.  Diameter,  OJ  inches.  (See  fig.  62.) 
The  variation  of  this  type  may  be  seen  in  the  next  figure.  The 


FIG.  62. 
THREE-STRAND  AVARP  BORDER  IN  WICKER  WORK. 


warp  stems  are  in  pairs  and  are  bent  in  this  case  to  the  left  at  right 
angles  and  woven  out  and  in  among  the  next  three  or  four  sets, 
returning  to  the  starting  point.  It  is  not  altogether  certain  that 
this  style  of  finishing  the  border  was  invented  by  the  Indians,  but 
they  have  adopted  it.  This  drawing  is  made  from  specimens  in  the 
collection  of  G.  Wharton  James.  (See  fig.  63.) 


FIG.  63. 
BORDER  MADE  BY  WEAVING  WARP  RODS  IN  PAIRS. 

Collected  by  G.  Wharton  James. 


In  the  next  example  the  handle  is  a  stiff  splint  of  hickory,  circular 
in  shape.  The  wide  hoop  border  shown  in  the  drawing  and  the  circu 
lar  hoop  are  the  framework  from  which  the  weave  begins.  All  the 
smaller  warp  elements  focus  at  the  junction  of  these  two.  The  widen 
ing  is  effected  by  the  introduction  of  fresh  warp  elements  as  the  work 
proceeds;  the  weft  makes  only  a  short  excursion  at  the  beginning 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY* 


263 


FIG.  64. 

SINGLE-STRAND  COILED  BORDER. 

Moravian  Settlement,  North  Carolina. 

Cat.  No.  214558,  U.S.N.M.    Collected  by  Carolyn  G. 

Benjamin. 


around  one  or  two  warp  stems,  the  hoop  increasing  in  length  as  the 
work  widens  and  additional  warp  elements  are  inserted.  This  specimen 
is  Cat.  .No.  214558,  U.S.N.M.,  and  was  collected  by  Mrs.  C.  G.  Ben 
jamin  from  the  Moravian  settle 
ment,  North  Carolina.  Diam 
eter,  5f  inches.  (See  fig.  04:.) 

The  term  twined  basketry  is 
applied  to  every  variety  whose 
warp  elements  are  held  together 
by  twined  weaving.  The  warp 
is  either  soft  filament,  or  hard 
wood  splints,  or  roots.  The  weft 
likewise  may  be  yarn  of  flax, 
wool,  or  other  very  pliable  ma 
terial,  or  it  may  be  rigid  splints 
from  roots  or  tough  young  wood, 
such  as  osier,  red  bud,  sumac, 
or  the  like.  Such  a  variety  of 
material  will  demand  in  the  finishing  off  various  kinds  of  borders. 
Lieutenant  Emmons  speaks  of  the  border  of  the  basket  as  its  life  and 
says  that  while  a  rent  in  the  side  or  bottom  of  a  wallet  ma}^  be  sewed 

with  fresh  root,  the  breaking  of 
the  edge  suggests  at  once  to  the 
woman  the  gathering  of  materials 
for  a  new  basket.  The  great  va 
riety  of  borders  in  this  type  of 
weaving  can  be  best  understood 
by  studying  specimens.  It  will 
be  interesting  to  begin  this  by 
comparing  examples  from  two 
widely  separated  areas,  namely, 
the  caves  of  Kentucky  and  the 
distant  islands  of  the  Aleutian 
chain,  both  in  soft  warp.  (See 
Plate  143.) 

Holmes  a  describes  bags  of  fiber 
found  in  a  cave  8  miles  from 
Mammoth  Cave,  Kentucky.  The 
largest  is  34  inches  across  and 

FIG.  65.  15  inches  deep.     The  warp  is  of 

2-strand  twine;  an  ornamental  va 
riety  is  given  by  introducing  two 
larger  cords  of  a  different  color  at  stated  intervals.  These  warps  are 
held  in  place  by  regular  twined  weaving  at  distances  varying  from  a 


BRAIDED  BORDER  FROM  WARP. 
After  W.  H.  Holmes. 


"Thirteenth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  1896,  p.  34,  fig.  8. 


264 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 


quarter  of  an  inch  to  an  incli  apart.     At  the  top,  where  the  twined 
work  finishes,  the  warp  cords  are  brought  together  in  groups  of  five 

and  twisted  into  a  rope  for  a 
short  distance.  They  are  then 
gathered  into  a  continuous 
braid;  the  ends  of  those  plaited 
in  are  cut  ofl'  when  the  ends  of 
a  new  set  are  taken  up.  This 
very  elaborate  form  of  border 
will  also  be  found  later  on  in 
Washington.  (See  fig.  65.) 

The  methods  of  finishing 
borders  on  twined  work  among 
the  Salishan  tribes  are  shown 
in  the  accompanying  figure. 
The  Quinaielt  wallet  (Cat.  No. 
127843,  U.S.N.M.,  collected 
by  Charles  Willoughby),  has 
several  noteworthy  character 
istics.  The  twined  weft  is  ver 
tical,  woven  over  a  frail  warp. 
At  the  upper  margin  are  out 
side  strengthening  rows  of 
close-twined  work.  Finally, 
the  two  ends  of  each  vertical 
weft  element  are  brought  to 
gether  as  one,  bent  backward 
behind  the  two  preceding  ones,  then  forward  under  a  row  of  twined 
weaving,  serving  to  hold  them  in  place,  the  loose  end  showing  on 
the  inside,  (See  fig.  66.) 

Turning  now  to  twined  weav 
ing  on  hard  foundation,  it  will 
be  a  matter  of  surprise  that  the 
Porno  Indians,  who  make  some 
of  the  finest  twined  basketry  in 
the  world,  take  no  pains  in  fin 
ishing  off  the  upper  margin  of 
many  pieces.  Cat.  No.  165659, 
U.S.N.M.,  is  a  basket  of  the 
Porno  Indians,  collected  for  the 
Bureau  of  Ethnology  by  H.  W. 
Henshaw.  Diameter,  11  inches. 
(See  fig.  67  and  Plate  19.) 

The  weaving  is  done  when  the  material  is  wet  and  soft,  and  in  dry 
ing  the  weft  shrinks  and  binds  itself  to  the  warp,  so  .that  the  basket 


FIG.  6f>. 

TWINED   WALLET. 

Quinaielt  Indians,  Washington. 
Cat.  No.  127843.     Collected  by  Charles  Willouphby. 


FIG.  67. 
SINGLE-STRAND  TWINED   BORDER. 

Porno  Indians. 
Cat.  No.  165659,  U.S.N.M.    Collected  by  H.  W.  Henshaw. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


265 


FIG. 

THREE-STRAND  TWINED  BORDER. 

Cat.  No.  203287,  U.S.N.M.     Colle<;ted  l>y  J.  W. 

Hudson. 


actually  wears  out  before  it  unravels.  Granary  baskets,  mill  hoppers, 
mush  bowls,  and  other  varieties  in  common  use  have  this  sort  of  mar 
gin.  In  the  drawing  here  shown  the  weft  is  supposed  to  be  untwisted, 
and  the  whole  is  enlarged  in  order  to  exhibit  the  texture.  When  com 
plete  the  warp  is  driven  close  together  and  the  little  sticks  of  alder  or 
willow  forming  the  warp  are  left 
protruding. 

In  the  following  illustration  the 
same  principle  obtains  of  making 
little  or  no  change  in  the  finishing, 
but  the  technic  is  three-strand  instead 
of  two-strand.  The  figure  represents 
a  section  of  a  meal  bowl  of  the  Ce}Tal 
Porno,  Cat.  No.  203287,  U.S.N.M. , 
which  was  collected  by  J.  W.  Hud 
son.  (See  fig.  68.) 

Plate  eStt  makes  evident  the  differ 
ence  between  the  plain  twined  bor 
der  and  the  three-strand  border.  In  the  upper  figure  the  inside  of  the 
basket  is  exhibited  and  the  effect  is  that  of  common  two-strand  twine, 
but  in  the  lower  figure  the  three-strand  twine  appears  in  a  single  row 
of  weaving  on  the  upper  border.  The  cutting  off  of  the  margin  is 
also  shown.  It  is  to  bo  understood  that  the  trimming  of  the  ends 

of  the  warp  stems  is  not  done 
until  all  the  weaving  is  entirely 
finished. 

The  Hupa  Indians  in  some 
cases  finish  the  borders  of  twined 
work  by  bending  down  the  ends 
of  the  warp  and  wrapping  or 
seizing  them  with  splints  of  wil 
low  or  other  tough  material.  An 
inch  of  the  border  in  a  basket  of 
the  Ray  collection  in  the  U.  S. 
National  Museum  is  shown.  (See 
fig.  69  and  Plate  170.) 

Another  example  of  this  wov 
en  and  coiled  work  is  shown. 
The  basket  (Cat.  No.  68491, 
U.S.N.M.)  is  the  work  of  the 
Zuni  Indians  of  New  Mexico.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  last  row  of 
weaving  at  the  top  is  three-strand.  The  warp  rods  or  stems  extend  a 
little  ways  upward,  then  bend  sharply  to  the  left.  They  are  then  cut 
so  that  there  will  be  always  three  of  them  included.  The  coil  or  seiz 
ing  of  splints  holds  them  all  firmly  in  place.  The  top  of  the  basket 
measures  4£  inches  in  diameter.  (See  fig.  70.) 


FIG.  69. 
BORDER  OF  HUPA  TWINED  BASKET. 


266 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 


The  McCloud  River  Indians  in  Shasta  County,  California,  cut  off  the 
warp  flush  and  finish  the  border  with  what  looks  like  plain  twined 
weaving  on  the  edge,  but  a  regular  half  knot  is  tied  between  each  pair 
of  warp  stems. 

Fig.  71  shows  a  border  of  Paiuto  Indian  twined  basket,  in  which  the 
warp  rods  or  stems  are  bent  to  the  left  at  right  angles  and  cut  off 

after  passing  two  or  more  stems, 
the  object  being  to  have  at  least 
three  ends  in  a  bunch  forming 
the  foundation  of  the  border. 
The  uniting  material  is  a  long 
splint  of  willow  or  rhus,  pass 
ing  to  the  left,  up  and  around 
the  foundation  in  front  of  the 
standing  part,  and  under  the  up 
per  foundation  stem  backward, 
forward  to  begin  another  series. 
It  is  in  fact  an  application  of  the 
half  hitch  or  button-hole  stitch. 
When  these  are  drawn  tight  they  form  an  effective  border  which  on 
the  upper  margin  has  all  the  appearance  of  a  four-ply  braid.  The 
basket  itself  is  an  example  of  twined  weaving  in  twilled  style,  and 
shaped  something  like  an  immense  strawberry. 

This  same  process  of  imitating  braid  on  the  border  of  a  basket  by 
the  ingenious  wrapping  of  a  single  splint  becomes  much  more  com 
plex  in  coiled  basketry,  as  will  be  seen  later  in  many  figures. 


FIG.  70. 

WRAPPED   WARP   BORDER. 

Zuiii,  New  Mexico. 
Oat.  No.  68491,  U.S.N.M.     Collected  by  Frank  H.  Cushinj? 


Fl(J.  71. 
BORDER   OK   PAIUTE  TWINED   BASKET. 

The  figure  (Cat.  No.  203253,  U.S.N.M.)  shows  a  combination  of  the 
work  just  described  and  the  twined-work  border  formed  by  bending 
down  the  warp.  The  specimen  is  from  the  Porno  Indians.  Collected 
by  J.  W.  Hudson.  Diameter,  1-i  inches;  height,  10  inches.  (Fig.  72.) 

By  far  the  greatest  variety  in  the  treatment  of  borders  in  twined 
basketry  will  be  found  among  the  Tlinkit  Indians,  southeastern 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  267 

Alaska,  and  the  Haida  Indians,  on  the  Queen  Charlotte  viands. 
Neither  of  these  great  families  use  coiled  work,  and  they  employ  little 
of  other  types  of  weaving-  than  the  twined.  The  Tlinkits  are  more 
ornamental  and  use  colored  grasses  in  their  false  embroidery,  while 
the  Haidas  never  employ  such  decorations,  but  excel  in  plain  and 
diagonal  twined  work  and  in  3-strand  weaving.  Lieut.  G.  T.  Emmons, 
U.  S.  Navy/'  has  studied  these  people  closely  for  many  years,  and  the 
information  regarding  the  borders  of  these  tribes  is  derived  from  him. 
According  to  this  authorit}T,  fully  nine-tenths  of  all  the  baskets  used 
by  the  Tlinkits  are  of  the  open  cylindrical  type,  in  which  the  border  is 
called  upon  to  sustain  more  than  its  proportion  of  the  wear  in  use. 
Some  tribes  have  always  used  certain  trimmings,  plaitings,  or  braidings 
to  the  exclusion  of  others,  and  the  work  of  different  periods  within 
tribal  limits  shows  marked  preferences.  Two  principal  methods  are 
employed  in  the  rinish  of  the  border  edge,  (1)  by  trimming  off  the  warp 


FIG.  72. 

THREE-STRAND  WARP  BORDER. 
Porno  Indians. 

Cat.  No.  203253.     Collected  by  J.  W.  Hudson. 


ends  flush  with  the  last  spiral  of  weave  (see  Plate  44),  and  (2)  by  turn 
ing  the  warp  over  and  fastening  it  down  to  the  standing  part  by  twined 
weaving  or  braiding.  The  first  system  is  always  used  with  covered 
baskets  and  generally  with  double  baskets,  where  the  two  borders  give 
protection  to  each  other,  with  hats  and  mats,  and  generally  with  all  types 
of  baskets  made  for  the  tourist  trade.  The  second  method  is  employed 
in  all  open  baskets  made  for  use  and  in  the  finer  varieties  with  double 
warp.  When  extreme  nicety  is  required,  the  inner  strand  or  layer  of 
the  double  warp  is  cut  off  two  lines  of  weave  below  the  top,  so  that 
when  the  outer  strand  is  turned  down  on  the  standing  half  the  thick 
ness  of  the  border  is  not  increased  beyond  that  of  the  regular  walls. 
But  whether  the  warp  is  cut  off  flush  or  turned  over,  the  last  few 
spirals  of  weave  are  generally  strengthened  by  additional  twining, 
braiding,  sennit,  or  embroidery.  There  are  a  few  examples  in  the 

a  Basketry  of  the  Tlingit  Indians,  Memoirs  of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural 
History,  III,  Pt.  3,  1903,  pp.  229-277. 


268 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 


collection  of  the  National  Museum  in  which  the  turned  reverted  ends 
of  warp  stems  are  .braided  among  themselves. 

This  braided  warp  is  held  together  by  rows  of  twined  weaving. 

1.  The  crudest  border,  or  really  want  of  border,  consists  in  cutting 
off  the  ends  of  the  warp  even  with  the  last  spiral  of  two-strand  weft 
This  is  universally  practiced  with  the  covered  work  basket,  and  is  often 
the  finish  of  the  smaller  double  basket.  (See  tig.  (>7.) 

±  Border  with  the  warp  ends  rut  oti'  Hush,  the  one  or  more  rows  of 
three-strand  twined  woof  around  the  edge  adding  strength  to  this  part. 
(See  tig.  (>S.) 


FIG.  73. 

TWO-STRAND   TWINE,  . (INLAID   FOR   BORDER. 

Tlinkit  Indians. 


3.  In  the  third  type  of  border  a  two-strand  twine  is  laid  vertically 
against  the  outside  of  the  warp  stems  and  held  in  place  by  another  two- 
strand  twine  passing  through  the  vertical  twine  and  around  the  back 
of  the  warp  stems.     The  vertical  twine  appears  only  on  the  outside  of 
the  basket,     The  horizontal  twine  is  seen  on  the  outside  and  the  inside 
alike.     (See  tig.  73.) 

4.  In  the  fourth  type  of  border  a  two-strand  twine  is  ornamented  on 
the  outside  with  false  embroidery  precisely  as  on  the  bod}-.     In  some 
cases  a  narrow  band  of  this   style  of  weaving  occurs  at  the  upper 
margin  and  is  decorative  as  well  as  useful. 

5.  The  Haida  and  the  Tlinkit  truncated  cone-like  hat  of  root  is  fin 
ished  at  the  border  by  cutting  off  the  warp  ends  flush  and  weaving  a 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


269 


common  three-strand  or  four-strand  braid  around  the  warp  so  that  one 
part  goes  inside  and  the  other  two  or  three  parts  remain  on  the  outside. 


FIG.  74. 

THREE-STRAND   BRAID   WOVEN  IN  FOR   BORDER. 

Tlinkit  Indians. 


This  shows  a  rope-like  ridge  on  the  outside  around  the  edge.     (See 
fig.  74.) 


FIG.  75. 

BORDER  OF  BRAID,  ONLAID. 

Tlinkit  Indians. 


6.  Another  style  consists  in  sewing  a  braid  or  sennit  on  the  outside 
of  the  warp  by  means  of  a  two-strand  twine  passing  through  the  first 


270 


KEPOBT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 


and  around  the  second.  These  two  styles  of  finishing-  hat  borders  are 
in  use  by  the  Haida  in  basketry,  and  may  have  been  borrowed  from 
them.  (See  fig.  75.) 

7.  In  all  open  baskets  made  for  use  where  strength  is  of  primary 
importance  the  warp  ends  are  doubled  over  on  the  standing  part  of 
the  next  warp  splint  in  the  direction  of  the  weave,  that  is,  to  the  right, 
and  twined  down  to  it  with  the  weft.  This  finish  is  found  on  the  old 
est  pieces  of  Yakutat  work.  It  is  often  strengthened  by  the  overlaid 
embroidery  in  straw  or  root  around  the  last  few  spirals  of  weave.  A 
number  of  technical  processes  employed  when  the  warp  is  cut  off  flush 


FIG.  7t>. 

BORDER   OF  TURNED-DOWN   WARP   WITH   TWO-STRAND  TWINE. 

Tlinkit  Indians. 

will  be  found  also  on  the  borders  of  specimens  in  which  the  warp  is 
turned  down. 

8.  With  the  turning  down  of  the  warp  strands  the  three-strand  woof 
twining  is  sometimes  used  in  the  place  of  the  two  strand. 

(9)  A  later  finish,  and  one  generally  found  on  the  shallow,  basin-like 
basket  used  as  a  work  basket  in  weaving  and  as  a  berry  screener,  con 
sists  of  a  turning  down  of  the  warp  ends  as  described,  and,  in  addition, 
weaving  a  two-strand  twining  over  the  bights,  forming  a  rope-like  twist 
over  the  outer  edge,  and  thoroughly  protecting  the  more  exposed  parts 
of  the  warp.  This  character  of  finish  occurs  more  among  the  Sitka, 
Hoonah,  and  Hootz  ah  tar  tribes.  The  Chilcat  never  used  it  and  the 
Yakutat  only  in  the  case  of  the  basket- worker's  basket.  It  is  certainly 
of  more  recent  date,  although  not  of  to-day..  (See  fig.  76.) 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


271 


(10)  The  most  elaborate  finish,  peculiar  to  the  Chilcat,  used  to  a 
degree  b}T  the  Hooach,  seldom  found  among  the  Sitka  and  Hootz  ah 


FIG.  77. 

BORDEK  OF  FOUR-STRAND   BRAID,  TURNED-DOWN  WARP. 

Tlinkit  Indians. 

tar,  and  practically  unknown  to  the  Yakutat,  consists  in  two  extra 
woof  strands  which,  with  the  original,  go  to  form  a  regular  flat  sennit 


FIG.  78. 

BORDER  OF  FOUR-STRAND  BRAID  ONLAID,  WARP  TURNED  DOWN. 
Tlinkit  Indians. 

braided  on  the  turned  down  warp.     This  finish  is  also  found  on  the 
finest  and  most  elaborate  ceremonial  hats.     (See  fig.  77.) 


272 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 


(11)  The  four-strand  braid  or  sennit  is  attached  to  the  outside  of 
the  border  by  a  two-strand  twined  weaving.  The  middle  strands  of  the 
four-strand  braid  are  crossed  each  time  behind  the  outer  one  of  the 
two-strand  weft  (fig.  78),  which  also  grasp  the  turned-down  warp  on 
the  back. 


Fits.  79. 

BORDER   INCLOSING    HOOP. 

Tlinkit  Indians. 


(12)  The  border  of  the  oval  covered  basket  differs  radically  from 
that  of  till  others.  Here  the  top  of  the  wall  is  rolled  over  on  the  out 
side  and  twined  down  to  the  side  all  around,  and  sometimes  this  roll 


FIG.  80. 

BORDER  OF  THREE-STRAND  BRAID. 
Tlinkit  Indians. 


incloses  a  thick  sized  ^pruce  hoop,  which  adds  considerably  to   the 
strength  and  stiffness  of  the  border.     (See  tig.  79.) 

In  all  instances  where  the  warp  ends  are  turned  over,  the  ends  of  the 
woof  splints  in  finishing  off  the  border  are  twisted  and  run  through 
the  bights  of  the  two  or  three  last  warp  strands. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


273 


Fig.  80  shows  a  border  of  a  basket  hat  from  the  Tlinkit  Indians, 
Alaska,  also  collected  by  Lieutenant  Emmons.  The  border  represents 
two  rows  of  regular  twined  weaving,  the  finishing  in  three-strand 
braid  (fig.  74).  It  will  be  noticed  that  in  crossing  each  warp  rod 
one  of  the  three  members  of  the  braid  passes  behind  the  warp,  the 
other  two  remaining  in  front.  On  the  inner  side,  therefore,  the 
appearance  will  be  that  of  the  ordinary  twined  work.  Cat.  No.  168263, 
U.S.N.M. 

Fig.  81  shows  a  form  of  border  on  the  twined  work  of  the  Haida 
Indians  in  Queen  Charlotte  Islands,  British  Columbia,  in  which  the 
warp  stems  are  cut  off  flush.  In  this  example  four  splints,  or  two 


FIG.  81. 

MIXED  TWINED  WORK. 

Haida  Indians,  British  Columbia. 

Cat.  No.  89033,  U.S.N.M.     Collected  by  James  G.  Swan. 

rows  of  twined  work,  are  combined  into  a  braid,  as  will  be  seen  in 
fig.  73,  the  two  rows  of  twining  becoming  one  row  of  braid.  As  the 
braiding  proceeds  from  the  end  of  one  warp  stern  to  another  the  weft 
splint  then  on  the  inside  is  hooked  over  the  end  of  the  warp  stem.  In 
the  drawing  are  shown  also  the  plain  twined  weaving  and  diagonal  or 
twilled  work,  by  means  of  which  figures  are  wrought  on  the  surface 
of  the  hat. 

In  coiled  basketry  many  specimens,  often  among  the  finest,  as  will 

be  seen  in  the  accompanying  drawings,  have  in  their  borders  the  same 

structure  as  on  the  rest  of  the  body.     For  each  special  type  of  coiled 

work  there  will  be  a  variety  of  border.     Frequently  the  coiled  netting, 

NAT  MUS  1902 18 


274 


EEPOET    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 


FIG.  82. 

SIMPLE  COIL  BOEDER. 

Paiute  Indians,  Utah. 

Cat.  No.  14688,  U.S.N.M.    Collected  by  J.  W.  Powell. 


of  which  hammocks  and  other  weaves  without  foundation  are  examples, 
is  finished  off  by  simply  stopping  the  work.  The  same  would  be  true 
in  all  the  varieties  of  foundation  mentioned  in  the  previous  section. 
In  the  present  example  the  foundation  consists  of  three  rods  or  stems 
not  set  in  triangular  fashion,  as  in  the  best  Porno  coiled  work,  but  in  a 
vertical  series.  This  makes  the  rows  much  wider  and  economizes  the 

sewing.  But  the  varieties  of 
this  type  are  as  numerous  as 
the  tribes  of  Indians  practicing 
coiled  weaving.  (See  fig.  82.) 
Fig.  83  illustrates  the  same 
statement  already  made  with 
reference  to  the  so-called  grass 
hopper  basket  (Plate  24).  The 
drawing  shows  how,  wath  a 
splint  foundation,  the  sewing 
material  interlocks  with  the 
stitches  underneath,  taking  up 
at  the  same  time  one  or  more 
splints. 

In  Plate  23,  illustrating  bifur 
cated  stitches  on  a  basket  in  the  McLeod  collection,  will  be  seen  the 
simplest  departure  from  the  ordinary  coiled  sewing  on  the  border. 
The  stitches  pass  forward  one  space,  through  and  backward  a  space, 
making  a  herring-bone  effect  on  the  upper  edge  of  the  basket. 

Plate  35,  upper  figure,  illustrates  a  simple  type  of  border  work. 
The  foundation  is  a  bundle  of  splinters  wrapped  with  splints  of  spruce 
root  and  sewed  on  here  and 
there  in  regular  order  to  the 
coil  underneath,  being  bent 
between  the  stitches  so  as  to 
form  a  regular  sinuous  line. 
On  the  next  round  the  row  is 
straight,  wrapped  like  the  first, 
and  is  sewed  to  the  top  of  the 
sinuous  coil  underneath.  On 
the  top  of  all  is  another  row, 
the  bends  not  being  so  high, 
the  lower  portions  being  sewed 
to  the  joint  of  the  other  two.  The  border  forms  a  series  of  lenticular 
openings,  with  a  bar  across  the  long  diameter.  This  method  of  orna 
mentation  is  not  confined  to  one  area,  an  Eskimo  specimen  from  Davis 
Inlet,  northern  Labrador,  collected  by  Lucian  Turner,  being  made  on 
substantially  the  same  plan. 


FIG.  83. 

SIMPLE   WRAPPED   BORDER. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


275 


Fig.  84  is  the  border  of  a  coiled  basket  collected  among  the  Hopi 
Indians  by  Victor  Mindeleff,  Cat.  No.  84596,  U.S.N.M.  It  will  be 
seen  that  the  foundation  of  the  coiled  work  on  the  body  of  the 
basket  consists  of  three  rods  on  the  same  perpendicular  plane.  The 
stitch  passes  over  the  three;  catches  under  one  of  the  previous  coils, 
the  stitches  interlocking.  In  finishing  off  this  work  a  single  rod  is 
used  for  the  margin  or  border.  It  is  sewed  to  the  upper  rod  of  the 
previous  foundation  in  plain 
coiled  work;  but  while  this  proc 
ess  is  going  on  a  series  of  three 
splints  are  twined  around  both 
the  foundation  and  the  stitches 
of  the  border.  When  the  whole 
is  drawn  tight  it  gives  the  ap 
pearance  of  a  very  elaborate 
double-braided  work,  looked  at 
from  the  outside,  and  a  con 
tinuous  twined  or  rope  work  on 
the  upper  margin.  In  order  to 
make  the  style  more  compre 
hensible,  a  drawing  from  the  border  of  Cat.  No.  204833  is  introduced, 
fig.  85,  in  which  the  elements  of  the  border  twine  are  in  different  colors. 
The  two  examples  just  shown  illustrate  what  was  previously  said  about 
using  twined  work  for  the  borders  of  coiled  weave,  and  the  opposite 
among  the  Tlinkits. 

Fig.  86  represents  the  border  of  a  coiled  basket  of  the  Sia  Indians 
of  New  Mexico,  Cat.  No.  134213,  U.S.N.M.,  collected  by  Mrs.  Matilda 


FIG.  84. 

THREE-STRAND  COILED  BORDER. 

Hopi,  Arizona. 


FIG.  85. 

DETAIL  OF  FIG.  84. 


C.  Stevenson.  A  hoop  is  used  for  the  foundation  of  the  border,  and  it  is 
first  made  fast  to  the  regular  sewing  underneath  by  means  of  a  simple 
coiled  splint  on  the  outside  of  this.  The  ornamental  border  consists 
of  an  ordinary  figure-of-eight  wrapping,  as  in  doing  up  a  kite  string, 
going  from  left  to  right.  A  splint  passes  under  the  foundation  rod 
toward  the  front,  and  then  forward  five  stitches  over,  behind,  and 
under,  back  three  stitches  and  under.  The  same  process  repeated 
gives  the  form  of  a  braid  on  the  outside.  Finally,  by  the  manipula- 


276  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 

tion  of  a  single  pliable  splint,  effects  are  produced  on  the  border  which 
resemble  three-ply  or  four-ply  braid. 

Fig.  87  shows  the  detail  of  border  on  a  Havasupai  (Yuman)  basket, 
Cat.  No.  213259,  U.S.N.M.,  collected  by  Dr.  Walter  Hough.  It  will 
be  seen  that  two  rows  are  used  in  the  foundation  of  the  border.  The 
strip,  or  splint,  passes  under  the  upper  backward,  then  around  in 


FIG.  86. 
SINGLE-STRAND  PLAITED  BORDER. 


front  forward,  and  under  both,  then  backward  to  repeat  the  process 
by  a  sort  of  figure-of-eight  movement,  passing  from  left  to  right. 
When  the  work  is  done  and  driven  home  it  has  the  appearance  of  reg 
ular  plaiting.  Fig.  1>  shows  both  top  and  side  view  of  the  completed 
work. 

The  application  of  border  work  to  other  forms  of  receptacles  may 
be  studied  here,  since  the  processes  are  quite  akin.     In  a  large  area  of 


FIG.  87. 
SINGLE-STRAND  PLAITED  BORDER. 

Havasupai  Indiaijs,  Arizona. 
Pat,  No.  213259.     ( 'ollected  by  Walter  Hough. 


North  America  bark  of  trees,  with  some  leather,  was  so  easily  worked 
that  very  little  trouble  was  taken  in  weaving  baskets. 

Fig.  88  represents  the  border  of  a  birch-bark  tray  formed  over  a 
rod  of  willow,  a  very  simple  and  effective  but  quite  ornamental  method 
of  attachment.  Five  holes  are  bored  or  cut  through  the  bark  near 
the  upper  border.  Two  holes  are  then  made,  half  an  inch  from 
the  border,  and  these  series  are  repeated  all  the  way  around.  The 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


277 


sewing  passes  around  the  rod  and  through  the  hole  in  a  simple  coil, 
but  the  effect  of  the  shallow  and  the  deep  stitching  is  quite  pleasing. 
The  sewing  is  done  with  tough  splints  from  the  root  of  the  spruce. 
The  specimen  here  figured  is  from  the  Upper  Yukon  River,  Cat.  No. 
217750,  U.S.N.M.,  collected  by  I.  C.  Russell. 


FIG.  88. 

PLAIN  COILED  BORDER  ON  BARK  VESSEL. 
Cat.  No.  217750,  U.S.N.M.    Collected  by  I.  C.  Russell. 


Fig.  89  is  the  border  of  a  birch-bark  tray  from  the  Tinne  Indians, 
Central  Alaska,  collected  by  I.  C.  Russell,  Cat.  No.  2177J4,  U.S.N.M. 
Three  slits  were  cut  through  the  bark  near  the  margin;  after  an  inter 
val  of  some  distance  three  others,  and  so  on  around  the  entire  border. 
A  willow  rod  serves  for  the  strengthening  element,  and  the  spruce  root 
is  attached  by  a  series  of  half  hitches  or  buttonhole  stitches.  On  the 
inside  the  effect  is  a  combination  of  coiled  and  twined  weaving,  and  on 
the  outside  only  the  vertical  stitches  of  the  coil  are  seen. 


FIG.  89. 
COIL  AND  KNOT  BORDER  ON  BARK  VESSEL. 

Cat.  No.  217744,  U.S.N.M.    Collected  by  I.  C.  Russell. 


Fig.  90  represents  a  border  of  a  Yukon  River,  Alaska  birch  tray. 
It  consists  of  the  alternate  use  of  plain  coil  around  a  strengthening 
rod  and  three  stitches,  passing  down  and  under  a  rod  on  the  inside, 
crossing  the  standing  part  to  the  right  through  an  opening  or  slit  cut 
in  the  bark,  and  up  to  the  beginning.  There  are  three  of  these  half 
hitches,  as  they  might  be  called,  and  then  five  wraps  around  the  upper 
rod.  From  this  point  the  process  is  renewed. 


278  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 

Fig.  91  is  a  border  of  birch-bark  tray  from  the  Upper  Yukon  River, 
collected  by  I.  C.  Russell.  On  the  upper  edge  a  rod  is  used  for 
strengthening.  It  is  attached  to  the  margin  of  bark  by  means  of 
splint  of  spruce  root.  The  drawing  shows  the  front  and  back  of  the 
method  of  holding  the  root  and  bark  together.  From  the  back  the 
splint  passes  from  the  hole  in  the  bark  obliquely  over  the  rod,  down, 


FIG.  90. 
PLAIN  COILED  BORDER  ON  BARK  VESSEL. 


forward  through  the  bark,  backward  and  behind  the  standing  part, 
over  the  rod,  down  and  through  the  same  hole,  to  start  another  knot. 
Practically,  then,  it  is  a  series  of  single  knots,  as  is  shown  in  the  upper 
openwork  drawing.  The  Indians  who  make  these  birch  baskets  are 
called  Tinne,  or  Dene.  They  live  in  Central  Alaska  and  belong  to  the 
Athapascan  family.  The  specimen  is  Cat.  No.  217247,  U.S.N  M. 


FIG.  91. 

COIL  AND  KNOT  BORDER  ON  BARK  VESSEL. 
Cat.  No.  217247,  U.S.N.M.    Collected  by  I.  C.  Russell. 

The  ordinary  checker  and  other  woven  mats  are  fastened  off  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  baskets. 

An  interesting  and  intricate  border  is  made  by  the  Chilkat  Indians 
on  their  ceremonial  blankets.  It  consists  of  a  number  of  long  strings 
of  mountain  goat's  wool  and  cedar  bast  held  together  by  a  few  rows 
of  twined  weaving  at  the  middle.  This  is  then  doubled  and  sewed  to 
the  margin,  the  ends  forming  the  fringe.  (See  Plate  148.) 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  279 


IV.  ORNAMENTATION  ON  BASKETRY 

There's  magic  in  the  web  of  it: 
A  sibyl  that  had  numbered  in  the  world 
The  sun  to  make  two  hundred  compasses, 
In  her  prophetic  fury  sewed  the  work. 

—OTHELLO,  III:  4. 

Ornamentation  in  and  on  basketry  is  to  be  studied  with  three  teach 
ers  or  guides — the  technician,  the  artist,  and  the  folklorist.  With 
the  first  named  are  learned  the  varied  materials  as  to  color  and  texture, 
the  technical  elements  and  their  forms,  and  the  methods  of  assembling 
them.  The  artist  will  show  how  these  elements,  on  the  one  hand,  open 
possibilities  for  aesthetic  effects,  and  how/  on  the  other  hand,  the 
stitches  and  decussations  handicap  attempts  at  free-hand  drawing. 
The  foiklorist  examines  the  pictography,  the  totemism,  the  lore  and 
mythology  of  the  ornamentation,  with  a  view  of  putting  the  student 
into  intellectual  and  spiritual  relationship  with  the  basket  maker. 
Without  her  basket-making  would  be  merely  a  trade  or  calling,  and 
the  art  student  would  be  utterly  helpless  in  detecting  the  alphabet  of 
design.  This  phase  of  the  subject  will  be  elaborated  in  the  chapter  on 
symbolism. 

Great  help  in  this  investigation  would  be  derived  from  a  visit  to  the 
humble  artist  to  watch  the  processes  through  which  the  fine  effects 
have  been  elaborated.  To  this  inquiry  special  attention  will  here  be 
given.  It  should  be  added  in  passing  that  in  producing  her  effects  the 
basket  maker  must  be  fully  equipped  for  her  work  before  the  first 
stitch  or  check  is  attempted.  The  painter,  the  potter,  and  the  sculp 
tor  may  add  finishing  touches  or  make  corrections  after  the  work  is 
done,  but  the  basket  maker  is  like  the  musician— every  detail  in  the 
production  must  be  attended  to  correctly  at  the  time.  There  is  no 
chance  to  go  back  and  remedy  defects.  Decoration  on  basketry  is 
studied  under  the  following  heads: 

A.  Form  and  structure. 

B.  Ornamentation  through  color. 

Form  and  color  may  be  studied  (1)  on  the  basket  as  a  whole;  (2)  on 
the  minutest  structural  elements;  and  (3)  in  the  designs  upon  the  sur 
face.  These  will  be  taken  up  in  order  and  treated  in  their  relation  to 
the  sense  of  the  beautiful,  present  in  the  humble  Indian  woman's  mind 
as  well  as  in  those  more  refined.  Growth,  progress  from  pure  natural 
ism  to  greater  and  greater  artificiality,  may  be  observed  here  quite  as 
marked  as  in  other  activities.  To  illustrate  what  is  here  said  by  way 
of  introduction,  Plate  36  represents  a  coiled  basket  of  the  Mission 
Indians  in  the  collection  of  G.  Wharton  James.  The  noteworthy 
characteristics  of  this  basket  bowl  are  the  effects  produced  by  variety 
in  designs  and  color  in  shades,  as  well  as  by  symmetry  of  outline. 
The  sharp  contrast  seen  in  the  designs  are  due  not  to  modern  dyes,  but 


280  REPORT   OF   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,   1902. 

to  a  skillful  use  of  Nature's  colors.  Under  the  descriptions  of  materials 
attention  was  called  to  the  variety  of  natural  pigmentation  in  the 
stems  and  roots  of  the  plants  used  in  the  construction  of  the  Mission 
work.  The -center  of  the  specimen  is  in  rectangles  the  colors'of  which 
alternate  between  white  and  dark  brown.  The  center  zone  is  made  up 
in  straw  color,  white,  and  black;  the  third  or  outer  zone  in  natural 
shades  of  the  stem — white,  brown,  and  black— with  here  and  there  spots 
of  brown  introduced  into  the  straw-colored  sewing.  The  outer  edge 
is  in  brown  and  white.  Anciently  the  Mission  baskets  were  not  nearly 
so  gaudy  looking,  but  among  the  frequent  transformations  in  artistic 
forms  and  colors  this  example  illustrates  progress  in  the  adoption  of 
really  beautiful  motives  of  a  high  order. 

The  elaboration  of  decoration  in  form  first,  and  then  of  color,  will 
now  be  taken  up  more  minutely.  The  aesthetic  side  of  this  part  of 
the  subject  is  so  well  explained  by  Holmes, a  that  it  is  here  only  neces 
sary  to  make  plain  the  technical  elements  and  processes  involved  in 
ornamentation. 

As  on  Pueblo  pottery,  so  on  basketry,  some. patterns  are  merely 
likenesses  of  things,  and  that  is  all.  A  step  in  advance  of  this  is  the 
portraiture  of  some  particular  and  sacred  natural  feature,  mountain, 
body  of  water,  trait,  etc.  Pictography  is  one  grade  higher,  and, 
beginning  with  attempts  at  figuring  animals  and  plants  entire,  runs 
the  whole  gamut  of  transformation,  ending  with  conventional  meto 
nymies,  synecdoches,  and  geometric  patterns  of  the  classic  type. 

FORM  AND  STRUCTURE 

Form  in  basketry  is  decided  at  the  outset,  not  by  the  desire  to  create 
something  artistic,  but  to  produce  a  useful  receptacle.  There  is 
scarcely  a  basket  so  rude,  however,  that  a  sense  of  symmetry  and  other 
artistic  qualities  did  not  enter  into  its  composition,  both  as  to  its  gen 
eral  outline  and  the  management  of  its  details.  These  varied  forms 
are  decided  in  reality  b\T: 

(a)  Function,  which  is  discussed  in  the  chapter  on  uses,  from  the 
purely  industrial  point  of  view. 

(b)  Materials,   shown  in  the   chapter  on  manufacture  as  to  their 
variety  and  quality,  but  here  considered  as  suggesting  and  restricting 
form. 

(c)  Imitation  of  natural  objects  and  of  forms  of  utensils  in  other 
materials. 

(d)  Physiological  limitations.     Both  in  the  making  of  the  basket 
and  in  using  it  the  Indian  woman  had  ever  in  view  the  convenience  of 
her  own  body.     The  curves  of  the  basket  itself,  the  length  and  width, 
the  proportion  of   all   its  parts,  as  well  as  convenience  of  holding, 


«  Sixth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  Washington,  1889,  pp.  189-252. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  281 

transporting,  and  utilizing,  all  had  reference  to  the  woman's  physical 
frame. 

(e)  Aesthetic  purpose.  The  desire  to  produce  something  beautiful 
in  itself  without  any  regard  to  other  motives. 

If  there  be  any  beauty  in  work  belonging  to  the  first  step  it  is  purely 
adventitious,  the  weaver  did  not  effect  it  purposely.  In  the  next  higher 
grade  there  are  no  separate  elements  of  beauty,  but  the  utilitarian 
features  are  dominated  by  taste  purposely.  A  third  class  of  aesthetic 
forms,  one  step  higher,  enhance  the  beaut}^  of  the  basket,  but  do  not 
dimmish  its  serviceability.  It  seems  a  pity  to  waste  so  much  pro 
longed  work  and  lovely  design  and  color  on  a  mere  berrypicking  basket 
or  a  pot  for  cooking  with  hot  stones,  but  who  will  say  nay?  Finally, 
usefulness  is  ignored  or  sacrificed  to  pure  aestheticism.  (See  Plates  11, 
23,  45,  70,  and  71.) 

When  the  very  lowl}r  and  practical  functions  of  a  great  deal  of  this 
ware  are  considered  one  has  a  striking  example  of  the  way  in  which 
the  sense  of  beauty  may  coexist  with  forlorn  poverty  and  surround 
ings,  as  may  also  be  seen  by  comparing  the  most  skillful  basket 
maker  with  her  workshop.  This  thought  must  not  be  carried  too 
far,  however,  in  understanding  the  culture  status  of  the  woman,  since 
all  artists  are  busy  practically  with  uncleanly  materials  and  do  not 
wear  their  best  attire  in  the  studio.  On  this  same  practical  side,  also, 
the  love  of  beauty  for  its  own  sake  may  not  be  the  entire  motive  in 
the  artist's  mind;  her  natural  ambition  and  pride  of  achievement  in 
technical  skill,  and  perhaps  envy,  have  much  to  do  with  preeminent 
success — quite  as  much  with  her  as  with  artists  at  the  other  end  of 
civilization.  The  same  discrimination  is  made  by  art  critics  in  the 
highest  walks  of  culture.  The  singer  or  musician  who  renders  a 
technically  difficult  piece  may  be  stimulated  quite  as  much  by  pride 
of  performance  as  by  the  overpowering  influence  of  aesthetic  feeling. 
It  is  difficult  to  sound  the  depths  of  the  Indian  woman's  motives,  but 
in  the  matter  of  shape,  as  will  be  seen,  her  masterpieces  are  fine  models 
of  symmetry  and  grace.  Quite  every  plate  in  this  paper  will  illustrate 
in  some  way  or  another  what  will  be  said  respecting  the  ornamenta 
tion  of  Indian  basketry  in  the  six  geographic  areas.  In  each  one  of 
the  phases  under  which  shape  as  a  decorative  element  is  studied  there 
will  be  found  a  response  in  the  different  parts  of  the  hemisphere. 

The  study  of  form  and  structure  in  the  ornamentation  of  basketry 
will  be  now  considered  under  the  heads  named:  First,  the  shape  of  the 
basket  as  a  whole;  second,  the  minute  structural  elements  out  of  which 
all  designs  on  basketry  are  formed,  and  third,  the  designs  on  the  sur 
face  of  the  basket  and  their  combination  into  symbols  or  composite 
ornamentations.  (See  Plate  37.) 


282  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

SHAPES    OF   BASKETS   AS   A    WHOLE 

The  shapes  of  basketry  have  relation  to  the  forms  of  solid  geometry. 
The  cube,  the  cone,  the  cylinder,  the  sphere,  are  the  bases  of  all  sim 
ple  and  complicated  varieties.  In  softer  material  basketry  approaches 
matting.  The  products  are  then  flat  or  pliable,  although  the  process 
of  manufacture  is  the  same.  Among  the  eastern  tribes  of  the  United 
States  the  Algonkin  and  Iroquois  baskets  are  all  cylindrical  or  rect 
angular  in  outline.  The  same  is  true  of  the  tribes  in  the  Southern 
United  States,  although  the  greater  flexibility  of  the  reed  cane  invites 
the  basket  weaver  to  a  wider  diversity.  In  the  Interior  Basin  and 
everywhere  else  the  wild  flax  and  other  tibrous  plants  abounded,  the 
sack,  rectangular  in  outline,  prevailed,  but  in  the  western  portions  of 
Canada  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  the  prevalence  of  birch  bark 
occasioned  a  variety  of  solid  forms.  The  Indians  of  the  Interior 
Basin  also  employ  the  cylinder  largely.  The  same  is  true  of  the 
Eskimo,  of  Alaska,  while  the  Aleutian  Islanders,  especially  in  the 
outer  islands,  having  the  flexible  wild  grass  to  work  with,  return  to 
the  form  of  the  bag  or  satchel.  The  cylinder  and  the  rectangle  pre 
vail  among  the  Haida  and  Tlinkit,  while  the  soft  wallet,  rectangular 
in  outline,  were  more  common  farther  south.  The  Salish  arid  other 
tribes  of  Indians,  of  Columbia  and  Washington,  diversified  in  their 
tribal  and  linguistic  elements,  produced  many  forms  of  baskets. 
Those  in  touch  with  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  wei'e  very  quick  to 
imitate  the  shapes  of  packages  used  by  them.  In  this  region,  also, 
since  the  boiling  with  hot  stones  was  a  prevalent  method  of  cooking, 
the  basket  pot,  somewhat  cylindrical  in  motive  }Tet  more  in  the  form 
of  a  truncated  cone,  was  seen  in  every  house.  What  is  said  about  the 
diversity  of  form  among  the  Salish  tribes  is  true  all  along  the  Pacific 
coast  of  the  United  States.  Here  also  is  to  be  found  the  conical 
baskets  in  great  abundance,  since  the  people  were  partly  vegetarians 
or  diggers.  The  carrying  basket  is  a  prominent  feature  in  collections 
from  this  area.  From  these  simple  geometric  forms  were  developed 
dishes,  jars,  bottles,  packing  cases,  and  so  on,  in  unlimited  numbers, 
combining  the  cylinder,  the  cone,  and  the  rectangle.  In  many  of 
these  the  jar-shaped  necks  of  potter}^  are  imitated,  in  which  the 
elements  of  the  sphere  and  the  spheroid  are  used. 

In  giving  the  forms  just  indicated  to  basketry  the  Indian  woman  has 
always  in  mind  the  elements  of  the  beautiful  as  well  as  of  the  useful. 
It  is  considered  a  reproach  to  violate  the  rules  of  bilateral  symmetry  or 
proportion  in  form.  A  superficial  view  of  a  large  collection  of  baskets 
from  any  portion  of  America  would  strike  the  most  careless  observer  as 
the  fruits  of  thoughtful  and  painstaking  labor  on  aesthetic  lines.  These 
forms  are  often  said  to  be  mere  imitations  of  something  the  savage 
woman  has  seen  in  nature  or  in  other  arts.  Imitation  is  indeed  one 
of  the  elements  in  this  problem,  but  it  is  an  entire  misconception  of 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 

the  underlying  plan  to  suppose  that  the  skillful  weaver  is  a  slave  to 
natural  patterns.  Indeed,  it  might  also  be  averred  that  she  is  less 
subservient  to  such  things  than  artisans  of  much  higher  grade.  On 
entering  the  workshops  of  civilization  one  sees,  the  walls  loaded  with 
designs  and  models  after  which  to  work,  but  rarely  would  the  observer 
see  an  Indian  woman  looking  to  any  other  source  than  her  own 
imagination  for  the  model  of  her  basket;  strictly  speaking,  she  never 
makes  two  alike.  A  close  observation  of  the  weaver  at  her  work 
demonstrates  the  fact  that  the  eye,  the  hand,  the  curves  of  the  body, 
the  angles  of  the  lower  limbs,  all  contribute  their  share  to  giving 
beautiful  forms  to  basketry.  The  following  illustrations  will  show 
the  gradations  of  general  outline  through  which  basketry  passes,  the 
maker  keeping  always  in  mind  the  sense  of  pleasure  to  be  awakened 
or  gratified. 

They  are  as  follows:  #,  flat  forms;  I,  dish  forms;  c,  bowl  forms; 
d,  jar  forms;  and  e,  miscellaneous  forms. 

(a)  The  simplest  of  these  is  the  flat  tray,  mat,  wallet,  sail,  gambling 
plaque,  and*  more.  They  assume  endless  varieties  of  outline,  and 
through  the  stimulus  of  trade  all  sorts  of  shapes  result,  table  mats  of 
standard  patterns  in  Sitka  and  Vancouver  Island,  rectangular  wallets 
in  Washington,  Idaho,  and  Montana,  but  especially  the  gambling 
plaques  of  California. 

Plate  38  shows  two  flat  plaques  of  this  form,  the  upper  one  from 
the  Tule  River  country,  Tulare  County,  California,  the  lower  one 
from  Madera  County,  both  in  the  collection  of  E.  L.  McLeod,  of 
Bakersfield,  California.  The  coiling,  if  well  done,  would  produce  the 
circular  outline.  The  Indian  woman  who  constructed  the  plaque 
made  the  stitches  under  the  spell  of  this  art  motive.  A  number  of 
additional  examples  of  artistic  forms  in  flat  basketry  will  be  found  in 
Plates  6  and  61. « 

(ft)  Use  cooperates  with  beauty  in  deepening  the  basket  into  a  shal 
low  plate  as  among  the  Hopi  (Moki)  for  the  sacred  meal  in  their  prayer 
ceremonials,  but  more  attractive  still  are  the  so-called  Navaho  cere 
monial  baskets.  (See  Plate  39).  These  beautiful  objects  have  attracted 
much  attention  also  through  their  association  with  Navaho  ceremonies. 
They  are  called  ghost  drums,  wedding  baskets,  and  various  other 
names,  all  associated  with  the  Navaho  religion.  The  dish  baskets  shown 
in  the  plate  are  in  the  collection  of  Fred  Harvey.  The  same  form 
exists  along  the  Pacific  States  wherever  meal  or  other  vegetal  diet  is 
eaten.  They  are  the  common  dish  in  which  the  mush  is  served 
throughout  the  acorn-bearing  parts  of  California.  It  is  an  excellent 
example  of  adaptation  to  use,  consistent  at  the  same  time  with  correct 
aesthetic  expression.  Doing  her  best  in  producing  the  proper  form 

«  W.  H.  Holmes,  Report  of  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1900,  pi.  XLI. 


284  EEPOET    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

she  was  not  hampered  by  the  fear  of  lessening  utility.     Figures  of 
similar  shapes  will  be  seen  in  Plates  93,  216. 

(c)  Deepening  the  plate  or  dish  gives  the  bowl  an  unlimited  number 
of  forms  and  emancipates  the  basket  maker.     All  through  the  south 
western  United  States  the  olla  is  the  prevailing  form.     It  is  a  segment 
cut  from  a  sphere,  marvelous  in  symmetry  when  the  production  of  a 
master  hand.     Departing  from  this  simple  outline,  varieties  are  pro 
duced  by  flattening  the  bottom  and  straightening  the  body  until  the 
truncated  cone  and  regular  cylinder  are  reached.     The  quality  of  the 
material  used  ma}^  have  a  little  to  do  with  the  general  outline,  but  it 
is  charming  to  see  how  easily  the  savage  woman  overcomes  the  obsti 
nacy  of  nature  and  persuades  reluctant  wood  to  do  the  work  of  grass 
and  soft  libers.     Cylindrical  forms  are  in  favor  with  the  Aleuts,  with 
the  Haidas  of  Queen  Charlotte  Islands,  with  the  Tlinkits  of  south 
eastern  Alaska,  and  some  tribes  in  Washington  and  Oregon.     In  the 
eastern  parts  of  Canada  and  the  United  States  cylindrical  forms  are 
mixed  with  rectangular.     The  baskets  shown  in  Plate  40  are  in  the 
collection  of  E.  L.  McLeod,  of  Bakersfield,  California.     These  are  all 
from  Kern  County,  and  include  hats  as  well  as  domestic  forms.     It  will 
be  noticed  that  some  of  the  examples  have  straight  conical  bodies 
and  others  are  curved  outward,  but  none  are  incurved.     As  models 
for  modern  basketry  these  shapes  can  not  be  improved  upon,  since 
they  are  grounded  in  the  structure  of  the  human  bod}^  itself.     Refer 
ence  will  be  again  made  to  the  baskets  in  this  plate  when  the  elemen 
tary  forms  are  studied  that  go  to  make  up  the  designs.     The  photograph 
does  but  half  justice  to  the  basketry  from  this  region,  which  adds  to 
the  beauty  of  outline  and  variety  of  design  the  charms  of  tints  and 
colors  in  varied  materials. 

(d)  Baskets  with  constricted  borders  go  by  the  general  name  of 
bottlenecks.     If  a  motif  be  sought  outside  the  desire  of  the  Indian 
artist  to  have  it  thus,  there  is  a  style  of  old  Pueblo  pottery  at  hand 
which  stands  preeminent  in  southwestern  United  States. a    After  the 
body  of  the  vessel  or  basket  is  built  up  to  the  required  height  the 
work  is  drawn  into  the  form  of  a  jar  or  bottle.     Attention  has  already 
been  called  to  the  fact  that  no  pottery  existed  formerly  on  the  west 
coast  of  North  America.     The  few  exceptions  to  this  rule  only  intensify 
this  absence.     The  place  of  pottery  is  taken  by  basketry,  even  for 
cooking.     There  is  no  limit  to  the  pine  trees  yielding  gum  which  will 
render  basketry  water-tight.     The  bottle-shaped  basket  soon  appears 
and  is  installed  as  Aquarius  of  the  Utes,  the  Apache,  and  other  tribes 
and  as  a  seed  vessel.     No  sooner  was  its  office  fixed  than  it  began  to  dress 
up  in  artistic  form,  and  the  inimitable  bottleneck  of  the  Panamint  and 
other  tribes  in  the  Inyo-Kern  and  Tulare  area  appeared.     The  Apaches 

«J.  W.  Fewkes,  Seventeenth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  1898, 
Plates  130,  131,  143. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  285 

are  having  the  last  word  at  this  point  in  the  adoption  of  correct  aesthetic 
forms  purely  European.  Plate  41  shows  a  group  of  Kern  County 
bottlenecks  in  the  collection  of  E.  L.  McLeod.  Plate  42  illustrates  a 
lot  of  Apache  ollas  in  the  collection  of  J.  W.  Benham,  of  New  York 
City. 

That  these  pretty  jar  shapes  have  little  significance  so  far  as  tribes 
are  concerned  is  shown  by  -the  fact  that  they  occur  all  the  way  from 
Point  Barrow  in  Alaska  to  southern  California. 

(e)  This  class  includes  all  odd  forms  whatever.  They  are  frequently 
made  in  imitation  of  objects  that  struck  the  Indian  woman's  fancy. 
The  very  best  examples  of  this  are  the  imbricated  baskets  of  the 
Eraser-Columbia  drainage.  A  good  collection  of  them  tells  the  whole 
story  accurately,  starting  from  the  conical  forms,  with  foundation  of 
splints  and  bottoms  in  shape  of  a  watch  spring  to  be  found  on  the 
Klikitat  and  the  Thompson  River  and  ending  below  and  above  the 
Eraser  mouth  with  flat  and  uniform  foundation  and  straight  lines  in 
the  bottom,  the  last  shapes  in  the  series  being  nothing  more  than 
imitations  of  Hudson  Bay  Company's  packages,  trunks,  cradles,  and 
so  on.  These  bizarre  shapes  are  not  confined  to  the  mere  imitation 
of  white  men's  devices.  The  demands  of  ceremony  and  religion 
required  special  forms  of  basketry.  (See  Plates  43,  157-172.) 

Finally,  ornamentation  in  the  form  of  the  basket  as  a  whole  has 
kept  pace  with  the  multiplication  of  uses.  The  first  contact  of  the 
Indians  with  the  whites  created  new  desires  in  their  minds.  Further 
more,  it  was  not  long  before  they  discovered  their  best  interests  to  lie 
in  the  direction  of  service  to  their  conquerors.  The  supply  of  new 
wants  and  responses  to  the  demands  just  mentioned  would  necessarily 
break  in  upon  the  ancient  regime.  Not  at  first,  however,  did  the  new 
object  respond  to  the  best  workmanship.  Plate  44  represents  a  part 
of  the  outfit  of  a  Tlinkit  Indian  in  the  service  of  the  Russians.  Among 
his  other  accouterments  there  must  be  a  receptacle  for  ammunition. 
This  must  conform  to  those  already  in  use.  The  result  is  the  three 
forms  shown  in  the  plate.  First,  a  small  jar-shaped  holder  with  a  bas 
ketry  cap-like  cover;  second,  a  bullet  holder,  in  which  the  one  basket 
fits  exactly  over  another;  third,  a  combination  in  which  the  cover  is 
attached  to  the  basket  by  means  of  a  running  string.  All  of  these 
forms  are  shown  in  the  plate.  While  drawing  attention  to  these  de 
signs  it  will  be  well  to  examine  their  characteristics.  The  cover  of  No. 
2  is  plain  twined  weaving  of  the  old-fashioned  sort.  The  attractive 
ness  of  the  work  is  in  its  regularity,  both  of  vertical  lines  and  hori 
zontal  weaving.  The  under  portion  of  this  double  basket  is  covered 
over  with  false  embroidery  designs.  No.  1  is  an  evident  departure 
from  ancient  shapes,  and  the  surface  is  covered  with  poor  work  in 
embroidery.  No.  3  is  more  worthy  of  scrutiny.  On  the  outer  bas 
ket,  or  cover,  plain  weaving  and  embroidery  alternate  in  single  lines 


286  KEPOKT    OF    NATIONAL   MUSEUM,   1902. 

and  narrow  bands.  The  lower,  or  inside,  basket  has  its  surface  envel 
oped  in  embroidered  weaving  of  excellent  character  and  is  wrought  in 
three  colors.  The  specimen  is  in  the  collection  of  L.  H.  Brittin,  of 
Edgewater,  New  Jersey. 


MOSAIC    ELEMENTS   IN    DECORATION 


The  composition  of  the  basket,  its  molecular  elements,  so  to  speak, 
is  guided  largely  by  the  materials.  In  cross  section  they  are  in  their 
coarsest  forms  round,  then  half  round,  resulting  from  splitting  whole 
stems.  The  finer  sorts  arise  from  further  subdivision  of  stems,  being 
roundish  on  the  outside  and  flat  within;  or  flat  on  both  surfaces,  as 
in  the  Canadian  ash  splints  and  the  flat  foundations  of  Fraser  River 
baskets;  or  ribbon-like,  as  in  basketry  made  of  palm  leaves;  or  thread 
like,  as  in  the  coiled  basketry  of  the  Porno,  sewed  with  split  sedge 
root  as  fine  as  pack  thread.  These  various  kinds  and  grades  of  mate 
rials  in  their  tractability  are  dependent  on  climate,  latitude,  and  phyto- 
geography  in  the  first  place,  and  finally  upon  the  maker's  grade  of 
culture,  on  the  form  and  function  she  had  in  mind,  as  well  as  on  the 
higher  forms  of  fine  art,  social  rivalry,  and  mythology.  (See  Plate  45.) 

In  ultimate  structure,  basketry  is  free-hand  mosaic  or,  in  finest 
materials,  like  pen  drawings  or  beadwork,  the  surface  being  composed 
of  any  number  of  small  parts — technically  decussations,  stitches,  or 
meshes,  practically  separate  from  one  another  so  far  as  the  effect  on 
the  eye  is  concerned.  These  mosaic  parts  are  with  some  materials 
quite  flat  on  the  outer  surface,  as  in  the  best  matting  and  bags,  while 
in  others  they  stand  out  on  account  of  the  coarseness  and  rigidity  of 
the  wood.  The  object  of  mosaic  ordinarily  is  to  produce  aflat  surface 
for  pavements  or  floors.  The  term  "  mosaic,"  here  used  as  a  simile, 
applies  to  such  as  is  seen  in  mural  decoration,  where  projections  and 
depressions  are  wrought  into  artistic  designs.  In  much  basketry  the 
separation  of  the  stitches  and  exposure  of  a  warp  beneath  having 
another  color  have  precisely  the  same  effect.  In  many  examples  the 
stems  and  roots  are  thoroughly  soaked  and  rendered  plastic  and  then 
pressed  home,  the  parts  being  forced  together,  in  which  case  the  little 
elements  become  spindle-formed  or  hexagonal.  Mosaic  effects  in 
basketry  may  be — (a)  Tessellate,  as  in  checker  or  twilled  weaving; 
(I)  concentric,  as  in  wicker  and  twined  weaving,  and  (c)  radiate  in  all 
coiled  weaving.  These  must  be  kept  in  mind. 

Unity  in  variety,  the  underlying  principle  of  all  aesthetic  composi 
tion,  finds  its  first  step  illustrated  in  the  making  up  of  a  basket.  The 
perfection  of  an  Indian  basket  in  its  artistic  technic  is  monotony,  or 
monotechny,  if  such  a  word  existed.  In  looking  at  a  clumsy  bit  of 
work  done  by  a  child,  or  a  beginner,  one  is  aware  of  painstaking 
effort  to  make  all  the  checks  or  stitches  alike,  ending  in  failure.  In 
the  most  elegant  pieces  the  victory  is  won,  unity  is  achieved.  With 


ABOEIGINAL    AMEEICAN    BASKETEY.  287 

her  moujth  for  a  vise  and  other  purposes,  with  a  flint  knife,  and  the 
educated  fingers,  the  patient  and  skillful  artist  formerly  brought  all 
her  filaments  to  uniform  thickness.  At  present  scissors,  awls,  knives, 
and  gauges  (all  of  metal)  aid  her  immensely  in  her  task.  The  eyes 
and  hands  cooperating,  in  some  instances  through  a  hundred  thousand 
efforts,  produce  elements  of  astonishing  uniformity.  This  unity  is  of 
a  very  high  order;  for  in  many  examples,  coupled  with  a  monotony-  of 
elements  absolutely  under  control  of  the  artist  there  is  at  the  same 
time  a  charming  variation  in  width  and  length  of  parts  in  harmony 
with,  and  made  necessary  by,  the  widening  and  narrowing  of  the 
basket.  This  unity  in  a  myriad  of  details  is  the  more  noteworthy  in  a 
basket-maker's  art,  in  common  with  that  of  all  other  textile  workers, 
because  the  individual  elements  are  not  lost  or  destroyed  in  the  opera 
tion.  The  exceptions  to  this  are  rare,  as  in  a  few  California  speci 
mens,  where  the  coiled  sewing  is  entirely  obscured  by  overlaying  of 
feathers.  Usually  the  perfection  of  the  stitch  is  the  aim  of  the  worker. 

Plate  46  is  a  rare  coiled  basket  made  b}r  a  Washoe  woman  named 
Datsolalee.  It  is  in  the  collection  of  A.  Cohn,  Carson  City,  Nevada. 
The  piece  measures  8£  inches  high,  is  12  inches  wide,  and  6  inches 
wide  at  the  opening.  The  stitches  number  over  50,000,  being  thirty 
to  the  inch.  The  body  color  is  a  rich  light  gold,  and  the  figures  are 
in  red  and  black.  It  weighs  16  ounces,  and  is  valued  at  many  hun 
dreds  of  dollars.  The  figures  on  the  basket  represent  birds  migrating 
or  flying  away,  the  motto  being,  "When  the  birds  leave  their  nests 
and  fly  away,  we  shall  move."  The  shape  of  this  piece  and  the  quality 
of  the  sentiment  in  the  markings  are  excelled  only  by  the  inimitable 
quality  of  the  work  on  the  surface.  It  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  a 
more  perfectly  uniform  piece  of  handiwork  than  this. 

In  pottery  all  vestiges  of  coiling  and  molds  are  commonly  obliter 
ated.  In  a  very  few  examples  of  ancient  ware  there  seems  to  have 
been  an  aim  to  perfect  the  coiling  and  render  its  detail  monotonous 
and  artistic,  but  in  the  many  thousands  of  other  examples  the  potter 
has  erased  the  marks  of  the  fingers,  the  paddle,  and  the  mold.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  whole  development  of  the  art  of  basketry  has  been 
an  effort  to  perfect  the  individual  stitch,  or  mesh,  or  check,  if  neces 
sary  to  make  any  number  of  thousands  of  them  exactly  alike  over  the 
entire  surface  of  a  large  receptacle,  or  to  study  the  greatest  possible 
number  of  variations  that  may  be  given  in  form  to  these  primary  ele 
ments  consistent  with  the  unity  of  the  whole  effect.  The  Eskimo  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Yukon  must  have  only  lately  acquired  the  art  of 
basket  making.  With  coarse  ha*y  for  the  foundation  and  sinew  for 
thread  they  produce  the  clumsiest  excuses  for  basketry,  ugly  in  form, 
slovenly  in  stitching,  and  utterly  devoid  of  designs  on  the  surface, 
while  the  Aleuts,  close  by,  have  unique  elementary  forms  and  work 
with  surprising  uniformity.  With  the  monotony  or  uniformity  of 


288 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 


the  mosaic  elements  in  any  basket  one  must  not  fall  into  the  error  of 
thinking  that  there  is  not  the  greatest  variety  of  fundamental  shapes 
in  the  things  to  be  monotonized.  The}^  vary  in  outline  and  relief  in 
position  with  reference  to  the  horizon;  that  is,  the  rim  of  the  basket, 
in  relative  proportion  to  the  whole  and  its  parts. 

In  checkerwork  the  basketry  tiles,  one 
might  call  them,  keeping  in  mind  the 
use  of  the  word  mosaic,  are  squares  or 
rectangles  in  close  or  open  work.  The 
mosaic  of  checkerwork  pleases  by  its 
uniformity,  and  yet  many  baskets  made 
by  hand  with  tools  not  over  refined  have 
in  thorn  enough  of  variety  to  relieve 
them  from  the  dull  monotony  in  machine 
products.  Flexibility  in  materials,  as 
between  hard- wood  splints  and  those  of 
cedar  bark  and  palm  leaf,  offers  all  the  chance  the  weaver  needs  to 
play  tricks  in  reliefs.  The  eye  is  never  wearied  in  rambling  up  and 
down  among  these  crooked  paths.  There  is  possibility  of  variety  even 
in  checkerwork,  through  changing  the  width  of  warp  and  weft  ele 
ments.  Oblong  rectangles  there  mingle  with  tiny  or  larger  squares  in 
tessellated  surfaces.  (See  Plate  U  and  tigs.  9t>  and  97.) 


FIG.  92. 

CHECKER  ORNAMENT  IX  TWO  COLORS. 
After  W.  H.  Holmes. 


Fw.  93. 

AMAZONIAN   BASKET   DECORATIONS   IN  CHECKER. 
After  V.  H.  rushing. 


What  is  here  said  concerning  the  {esthetic  effects  produced  in  the 
plainest  kind  of  checkerwork  by  simple  alternation  of  the  colors  is 
illustrated  by  fig.  9^,  after  Holmes  in  the  Sixth  Annual  Report  of  the 
Bureau  of  Ethnology  already  quoted. 

Fig.  93  is  a  more  interesting  illustration  from  the  Amazon  region, 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


289 


FIG.  94. 

TWILLED  WORK  IN  TWO 

COLORS. 
After  W.  H.  Holmes. 


from  a  drawing  after  Frank  H.  Gushing.  The  surface  of  the  basket 
is  mosaic  in  two  colors,  made  up  of  little  square  blocks,  and  by  their 
alternation  not  only  sloping  and  vertical  patterns  are  produced,  but 
the  most  intricate  labyrinth  of  fretwork.  There  is  no  limit  to  the  pos 
sibilities  any  more  than  there  is  to  the  Italian 
workman  making  a  tessellated  pavement  with 
marble  blocks  in  white  and  black. 

As  soon  as  the  weaver  steps  outside  of  her 
monotonous  checkerwork  into  the  province  of 
wicker,  or  especially  twilled  weaving,  the 
possibilities  of  ornamentation  are  infinitely 
multiplied.  In  plain  weave,  wicker  elements 
are  sigmoid  or  spindle-shaped;  on  twilled  weav 
ing,  they  are  oblong  rectangles.  Passing  into 
the  most  intricate  damask  effects  in  modern 
linen  weaving,  in  which  materials  of  one  color 
only  have  to  be  used,  it  will  be  seen  how 
greatly  varied  this  sort  of  ornamentation  may 
be  made.  The  elements  of  wickerwork  mosaic 
are  horizontal,  but  twilled  weaving,  in  single  elements  may  be  both  ver 
tical  and  horizontal  in  the  same  piece.  The  three  accompanying  figures 
are  from  Holmes  and  show  better  than  words  the  possibilities  of  the 
little  squares  and  rectangles  for  decoration.  In  fig.  1M  in  two  colors 
the  white  work  is  under  two  and  over  one;  the  weft  over  one,  two,  or 

three  and  under  one;  the  result  being  a  series 
of  sloping  designs  of  great  beauty.  Fig.  95 
in  precisely  the  same  materials  shows  how 
by  varying  the  count  the  pattern  is  changed. 
Fig.  96  is  interesting  because  it  exhibits  a 
widespread  type  of  mat  weaving  farthest 
away  from  loom  work.  The  woman  begins 
at  the  corner  to  weave.  All  the  little  blocks 
are  rectangles;  all  stop  at  the  same  angle, 
and  the  result  is  a  perfect  Greek  fret  in  two 
colors.  (See  Plate  47.) 

In  twined  weaving  the  effect  of  the  single 
rows  is  funicular  one  way  and  corrugated 
the  other.  If  the  reader  will  notice  any 
number  of  twined  baskets  in  plain  twined 
weave,  it  will  at  once  become  apparent  that 
it  has  its  limitations.  The  Porno  make  only  bands  in  it  to  represent 
the  skin  of  a  snake  or  some  such  motive.  The  Haida  and  Tlinkit 
vary  the  ribbed  effect  with  decorative  overlaying  or  three-strand  weft. 
With  the  diagonal  twined  work  the  case  is  entirety  different.  The 
boldest  of  spiral  designs  covering  an  immense  surface  are  wrought 
NAT  .MUS  1902—19 


FIG.  95. 
DIAPER  TWILLED  WORK  IN  TWO 

COLORS. 
After  W.  H  Holmes. 


290  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

in  weaving  in  twilled  fashion.  Nothing-  can  excel  the  Porno,  Pit 
River,  and  other  northern  California  carrying  baskets  in  attractive 
ness  of  decoration.  In  openwork  twining,  where  the  warp  has  a 
chance  to  show  its  versatility,  as  in  mound-builders'  ware,  but  especially 
in  Aleutian  wallets,  the  pleasing  effects  in  a  single  color  are  without 
end.  For  examples  of  the  great  variety  in  twined-work  decoration 
see  Plates  19,  21,  and  48. 

Plate  48,  illustrating  twined  decoration  in  its  elements  is  a  repre 
sentation  of  food  bowls  of  the  Klamath  Indians  of  southern  Oregon. 
These  old  specimens  were  among  the  first  received  at  the  U.  S. 
National  Museum  and  were  collected  by  George  Gibbs,  Cat.  No.  7568, 
U.S.N.M.  The  resources  of  ornamentation  used  by  the  Klamath 
Indians  are  fine  stems  and  rods  for  the  fiber,  different  colors  in  the 
wood,  and  superadded  elements  for  decoration.  Much  of  their  work 


FIG.  96. 
DIAGONAL  TWILLED  ORNAMENT. 

British  Guiana. 
After  W.  II.  Holmes. 


is  done  in  soft  material  and  in  the  typo  of  overlaying  used  by  them 
the  ends  are  fastened  off  carelessly  on  the  inside  of  the  structure  so 
as  to  give  a  rough  appearance. 

Further  illustrations  of  Klamath  ornamentation,  as  well  as  that  of 
their  kindred,  the  Modocs,  will  be  found  in  Plates  167,  174. 

One  of  the  prettiest  and  boldest  attempts  at  securing  effects  in 
twined  weave  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  is  from  the  vast  ceme 
tery  of  Ancon  in  Peru.  The  illustration  (fig.  97)  showTs  the  decorative 
belt  on  a  small  workbasket  made  from  rushes.  One  might  be  deceived 
into  thinking  that  the  motive  came  from  the  Yokut  Indians  of  Cali 
fornia  (figs.  98  and  99),  but  a  glance  at  the  texture  reveals  a  different 
method  of  achieving  the  same  result.  The  warp  is  double,  consisting 
of  two  straws  side  by  side  as  in  the  Aleut  wallets.  At  the  bottom  are 
three  rows  of  plain  twined  weaving,  each  twist  inclosing  two  warps. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  291 

Follow  these  pairs  up  to  the  top  of  the  basket  and  note  that  the  two 
rows  of  twined  weaving — one  dark,  the  other  light — also  inclose  pairs, 
but  not  the  same  pairs,  between  the  single  twinings.  Here  seven 
human  figures  are  woven  in  black  on  a  brown  ground.  The  pairs  are 
holding  in  their  hands  between  them  a  rhomboid  object,  reminding 
one  of  an  Iroquois  wampum  belt  in  which  two  warriors  are  shown  as 
{bearing  the  sacred  pipe.  The  weaving  on  this  space  is  twilled  mixed 
'with  twined,  the  latter  being  subservient  to  the  former.  The  warp 
elements  no  longer  are  worked  in  pairs,  but  singly.  The  twined 
weaving  on  them  is  twilled  on  the  brown  body  surface  and  vertical 
across  the  black  rectangles,  making  the  double  warp  conform  to  the 
twined  weaving  below  everywhere  save  on  the  feet.  All  this  is  finger 
work  and  deserves  a  prize  for  its  maker  both  for  the  plan  and  the  size 
of  the  molecules. 


FIG.  97. 
HUMAN  FIGURES  IN  TWINED  WEAVING. 

Ancient  Peru. 
After  W.  H.  Holmes. 


Coiled  basketry,  on  the  contrary,  is  made  up  of  radial  elements 
only,  which  are  the  stitches,  some  being  long  and  thin,  others  short 
and  wide.  The  esthetic  effects  depend  on  the  quality  of  the  material. 
The  very  coarsest  ware  of  the  Utes  and  the  Klondike  nations  has  little 
beauty  of  texture,  while  that  of  the  Alaskan  Tinne  or  the  California 
Wasboe,  Panamint,  or  Porno  is  faultless.  In  finer  coiled  work,  when 
the  stitches  barely  interlock,  they  appear  to  stand  one  over  another 
from  row  to  row;  but  when  the  stitches  pass  underneath  one  of  the 
rods  at  least  of  the  foundation  below  there  is  an  alternation  of  stitches 
with  open  spaces  on  the  surface  resembling  twilled  weaving,  each  one 
being  wedged  between  two,  over  and  under.  It  is  impossible  to  trace 
any  ornamentation  in  coiled  work  among  the  eastern  Indians  of  North 


292 


KEPOBT    OF    NATIONAL   MUSEUM,    1902. 


America  through  lack  of  material.     The  Arctic  Alaskan  coiled  bask, 
also  is  lacking  in  color  features.      It  is  not  until  the  Salish  tribes 
of  British  Columbia  are  reached  that  attempts  are  made  to  produce 
beautiful  effects  in  the  primitive  coiled  elements  of  ornamentation. 
The  resources  of  the  artist  are  fourfold. 

(1)  Her  regular  stitches  are  in  tough  root  splints  coiled  in  such  manner 
that  the  smooth  outer  surface  of  the  last  year's  growth  is  exposed  to 
view.  Seldom  will  the  rough  inner  splints  which  constitute  the 


FIG.  98. 
DKSIGX  ON  COILKI)  HOWL. 

Tulure  Indians. 
9f>91.  V.S.N.M.     Collected  by  Stephen  Power 


foundation  come  into  sight  through  or  between  the  stitches,  Indeed, 
there  is  a  type  of  weaving  in  this  area  in  which  smooth,  thin  strips  of 
wood  are  laid  together  in  pairs  so  that  when  the  warp  is  exposed  it  is 
the  bright  outer  surface  that  is  seen.  The  Salish  woman  is  not  back 
ward  in  making  most  of  her  opportunities  with  the  dull  brown  color 
of  the  cedar  in  that  she  has  learned  to  practice  uniformity  in  the 
stitches  themselves. 

(2)  Mention  has  already  been  made  of  splitting  stitches  in  the  sew- 


ABORIGINAL    AMEKICAN    BASKETKY. 


293 


ing  of  these  savage  women.  It  is  done  in  such  a  careful  manner  that 
it  becomes  an  element  of  beauty,  otherwise  it  would  become  a  contri 
bution  to  ugliness.  Examples  of  this  work  will  be  seen  in  Plate  24. 

(3)  Another  resource  of  ornamentation  in  the  elementary  American 
work  of  coiled  basketry  has  been  well  used  by  the  Salish  Indians — 
that  is  the  so-called  beading,  which  consists  in  running  a  strip  of  bright 
grass  in  and  out  among  the  coiled  stitches  at  regular  intervals.  Many 
examples  of  brown  cedar  sewing  with  bright  golden-colored  straws 
for  the  beading-  are  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum.  This  arrests  ;the 
radial  effect  of  the  coil  stitches  and  substitutes  the  concentric  or 
parallel  motif. 


FIG.  99. 
DETAIL  OF  FIG.  98. 

After  W.  H.  Holmes. 


(4)  The  last  elementary  resource  referred  to  among  the  Salish  tribe 
is  imbrication,  which  will  be  more  minutely  described  in  the  section 
devoted  to  color  in  ornamentation.  The  sewing  on  such  specimens  is 
entirely  obliterated  and  the  surface  reconstructed  in  yellow,  red,  brown, 
and  wood  color,  the  effect  being  tesselate  mosaic. 

Among  the  California  tribes  these  coiled  elements,  being  much 
smaller  in  size  than  those  in  the  baskets  of  the  Salish  tribes,  afforded 
opportunity  for  different  artistic  effects.  An  inspection  of  the  work 
done  by  Porno,  Maidu,  and  other  tribes  of  northern  California  shown 
in  many  plates  and  figures  will  prove  this. 

Fig.  98  is  from  the  surface  of  a  beautiful  coiled  basket  of  the  Tulare 
Indians,  Tulare  County,  California.  It  gives  an  opportunity  of  study 
ing  the  elementary  stitches  on  the  best  of  coiled  work.  These  Indians 


294 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 


have  at  their  command  four  colors,  that  of  the  root  or  wood  with  which 
the  body  of  the  basket  is  sewed;  black  filaments  taken  from  the  root 
of  a  peculiar  sedge;  where  the  redbud  or  cercis  is  available,  the  outer 
bark  is  a  rich  brown  and  the  inner  side  quite  white;  in  addition  there 
is  a  bright  reddish  root,  Yucca  arborescens. 

The  stitches  are,  of  course,  hexagonal  in  form,  but  the  pressing  of 
the  wood  together  gives  them  quite  an  oval  outline,  and  they  naturally, 
in  the  course  of  sewing,  incline  toward  the  right.  With  these  colors 
and  oval  elements  to  which  the  artist  is  bound  to  restrict  herself,  the 
attempt  is  here  made  to  produce  a  step-formed  cycloid.  In  the  spaces 

between  each  two  designs  is 
the  figure  of  a  man.  It  is 
interesting  to  note  how,  un 
der  such  narrow  restrictions, 
so  good  effects  can  be  pro 
duced. 

In  southern  California 
among  the  Tulare  and  other 
neighboring  tribes,  as  well 
as  among  the  Apache  and 
Navaho,  most  pretentious  fig 
ures  are  attempted  in  coiled 
elements.  Fig.  99,  after 
Holmes,  in  the  Sixth  Annual 
Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Eth 
nology  (fig.  339)  furnishes  a 
good  example  of  what  is  here 
mentioned,  but  the  farthest 
departure  from  old-fashioned 
types  is  exhibited  in  the  work 
of  the  Apaches,  who  attempt 
all  sorts  of  animal  forms  in 
coiled  work,  and  the  Pima 
tribes,  who  lose  themselves 
in  labyrinths  and  frets. 

The  basket  from  which  this 
elementary  rectangle  is  taken  will  be  found  illustrated  on  Plate  30,  in 
Report  of  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  for  1884. n 

Plate  49  shows  two  covered  jars  in  exquisite  coiled  work,  brought 
from  Santa  Barbara,  California,  by  William  Alden  Gale,  of  Boston, 
between  1810  and  1835,  and  owned  by  the  Misses  Eaton.  The  upper 
basket  is  11  inches  high  and  5  inches  wide;  the  lower  15^  inches  Avide 
and  10  inches  high.  They  are  introduced  here  for  the  purpose  of 
calling  attention  to  their  combination  of  {esthetic  qualities.  One  does 


FIG.  100. 

PIMA   CARRYING   FRAM2. 

Southern  Arizona. 
Cat.  No.  76033,  U.S.N.M.     Collected  by  Edward  Palmer. 


«  See  also  Stephen  Powers  in  Contributions  to  North  American  Ethnology,  1877,  p.  256. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  295 

not  know  which  to  admire  most,  their  forms,  the  fineness  of  the. 
stitches,  the  simple  but  effective  designs,  or  the  charming  effect  of 
color  both  in  the  patterns  and  in  the  mosaic  work.  Covers  on  baskets 
from  this  area  are  rare  and  may  not  be  ancient.  It  is  just  suggested 
that  their  motive  came  from  the  old  preserve  jars  common  in  ships' 
outfits  a  hundred  years  ago. 

In  fig.  100  the  ornamentation  has  all  the  features  of  lacework; 
indeed,  it  might  be  called  the  beginning  of  lace.  The  detailed  draw 
ing  above  the  figure  shows,  however,  that  the  example  is  simply  a 
piece  of  coiled  basketry  from  which  the  foundation  rows  have  been 
carefully  withdrawn  and  only  the  sewing  remains.  In  the  long 
stitches  between  the  thread  has  been  simply  wrapped  twice  around 
the  standing  part  instead  of  once.  It  is  within  the  weaver's  power  to 
make  this  change  at  any  moment  from  single  wrap  to  double  wrap, 
the  result  being  a  figured  surface,  as  in  the  lower  drawing.  This  sort 
of  ornamentation  has  rare  existence  north  of  the  present  boundaries 
of  Mexico,  but  may  be  found  all  through  tropical  America.  The 
example  here  shown  was  procured  from  the  Pima  Indians  of  the 
Piman  family  in  Arizona  and  Mexico,  but  beautiful  examples  were 
also  collected  by  W  J  McGee  among  the  Papagoes,  their  kindred. 


DESIGNS   IN   DECORATION 


The  fundamental  checks,  decussations,  stitches,  and  meshes  of  which 
the  mosaic  of  basketry  is  made  up  are  used,  associated  or  not  with 
color,  in  forming  designs  or  patterns  on  the  surface.  Compare  the 
severely  plain  Haida  cylinder  wallet  with  the  exquisitely  decorated  hat 
from  the  same  tribe.  Both  are  in  the  color  of  the  spruce  root,  but  the 
latter  resembles  fine  lacewor-k  on  account  of  the  delicate  pattern  cov 
ering  its  surface.  All  Indian  tribes  know  how  to  give  variety  to  unit}7 
by  simply  making  up  various  technical  compositions  that  add  no  new 
processes.  These  compositions  are  aggregations  of  simple  forms 
which  are  the  alphabet  of  the  Indian  woman's  most  intricate  patterns. 
It  matters  not  how  complicated  the  whole  design  may  be,  it  is  com 
posed  of  the  following  simple  parts: 

(a)  Lines  in  ornament. 

(b)  Squares  or  rectangles. 

(c)  Rliomboidal  figures. 

(d)  Triangles. 

(e)  Polygonal  elements. 

(f)  Complex  patterns. 

It  may  be  well  to  devote  a  little  more  space  to  the  consideration  of 
these.  Many  seemingly  incomprehensible  patterns  become  clear  when 
resolved.  At  the  same  time  the  secret  of  their  pleasure-giving  quality 
is  revealed.  Just  as  a  subtle  pleasure  creeps  into  the  mind  in  scrutin 
izing  the  uniform  stitches  on  the  surface  of  the  Washoe  basket  (Plate 


296 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902 


4:6)  so,  in  a  higher  sense,  the  orderly  recurring  of  the  same  geometric 
shape  over  and  over  in  an  intricate  design  adds  to  the  enjoyment  of 
the  whole.  These  elements  are  not  exact,  however,  being  hand-made 
and  bounded  by  lines  produced  by  the  curved  forms  in  most  basketry. 
The  artistic  effect  is  thus  heightened. 

(ft)  Lines  in  ornament. — It  may  not  have  occurred  to  the  reader  to 
observe  how  scrupulous  almost  every  Indian  basket  maker  is  to  relieve 
the  monotony  of  her  work  by  a  simple  line  of  some  other  kind  of 
weaving.  It  would  be  safe  to  say  that  no  basket  is  without  them.  In 
the  entire  Hudson  collection  in  the  National  Museum  there  is  not  a 
twined  basket  whose  texture  is  not  improved  in  more  than  one  place 
by  a  line  in  a  different  style  of  technic.  These  lines  may  run  in  almost 
any  direction,  and,  as  in  the  Halda  hat,  be  worked  into  geometric 
figures. 

Plate  50  is  a-collection  of  Pima  basket  bowls  from  southern  Arizona 
belonging  to  F.  M.  Covert,  of  New  York  city.  It  shows  how  many 
different  effects  are  produced  in  the  same  tribe  by  the  mere  adminis 
tration  of  lines  wandering  about.  In  some  of  the  figures  shown  it 
will  be  seen  how  easy  it  is  for  a  row  of  stitches  to  become  double  and 
then  to  add  or  to  make  additional  rows  at  the  ends  or  on  the  sides,  to 
separate  lines  or  to  give  to  a  line  any  sort  of  curved  effect,  This  is 
especially  noticeable  in  fig.  8.  The  line  may  pass  by  further  additions 
into  rectangles,  triangles,  or  geometric  figures.  The  Indians  of  the 
southwestern  portion  of  the  United  States  have  exhausted  the  situation 
in  this  matter  of  meandering  lines. 

(1)  Squares  or  rectangles.—  The  next  simplest  form  upon  which  the 
basket  artist  may  venture  is  the  square  or  rectangle,  which  may  be  a 
band  of  two  or  more  rows  interrupted  by  vertical  spaces,  perhaps  in 
another  color.  It  is  a  matter  of  counting  the  same  number  over  and 
over  as  the  work  progresses,  and  is  one  of  the  first  steps  in  arithmetic. 
In  a  Porno  gift  basket  the  square  patterns  on  the  bottom  are  the  mats 
on  the  floor,  and  so  the  simplest  of  weaving  motives  lends  itself  to 
symbolism.  In  the  plainest  forms  of  work  the  checkers  or  squares 
are  oriented  at  right  angles  to  the  horizon  or  border  of  the  specimen. 
Variety  is  effected  by  the  position  of  the  squares  and  their  relation 
one  to  another  and  to  other  decorative  elements.  A  delightful  effect 
is  produced  on  matting  especially  where  the  squares  or  checkers  are 
oblique  to  the  borders.  Such  work  is  to  be  seen  in  America,  but  was 
much  more  common  in  the  islands  of  the  Pacific. 

The  rectangle  gives  a  wider  scope  still  to  variety  in  artistic  effects. 
Bands  of  rectangles  are  to  be  seen  around  basketry,  and  more  compli 
cated  forms  are  made  up  of  them  or  have  them  in  their  composition. 
A  departure  from  the  rectangle,  but  in  the  same  line  of  workmanship, 
is  the  parallelogram.  Such  work  is  easily  produced  in  the  diagonal  or 
twilled  weaving.  An  excellent  example  of  an  intricate  design  made  up 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  297 

of  rectangles  in  various  positions  and  relations  one  to  another  is  shown 
in  the  old  Skokomish  wallet  from  Washington  in  the  collection  of 
F.  Harvey.  (See  Plate  51.)  The  decorations  on  this  wallet  consist  of 
vertical  collections  of  geometric  figures,  one  hanging  from  another,  in 
suits  of  four.  Each  one  of  the  designs  which  go  to  make  up  the  whole 
decoration  in  its  simplest  elements  is  a  rectangle.  The  projections 
from  the  sides  of  these  are  the  same,  and  the  wolves  around  the  upper 
border  are  simply  a  collection  of  the  same  elementary  design,  the  head, 
the  neck,  the  body,  the  legs,  the  tail,  each  one  is  the  same.  On  the 
larger  rectangles  are  nests  of  geometric  figures  of  the  same  class,  one 
inclosed  in  the  other  by  widening  lines.  The  entire  effect  on  the  sur 
face  is  produced  by  the  clever  use  of  a  single  element. 

In  many  examples,  when  the  rectangular  figure  is  set  obliquely  the 
pattern  on  the  basket  appears  to  have  a  rhomboidal  form.  The  types 
of  weaving  have  much  to  do  with  the  administration  of  the  rectangle, 
whether  it  be  radial  or  concentric.  In  diagonal  weaving  the  long  axis 
is  horizontal,  but  in  coiled  work  the  long,  slender  rectangles  are  per 
pendicular.  In  loose  coiling  the  figures  become  rhomboidal  on  account 
of  the  longer  slope  of  the  stitch.  Twined  work  produces  an  infinite 
number  of  rhombs  in  rows  having  ragged  edges.  In  the  style  of 
weaving  produced  by  the  Makah  the  separate  elements  are  rectangular 
on  the  inside,  but  they  form  a  charming  patchwork  of  rhombs  on  the 
outside.  The  rectangle  aside  from  color,  which  will  be  studied  later, 
lends  itself  to  ornament  by  its  relief,  its  proportions,  and  its  position. 
The  relief  depends  on  the  material,  which  may  be  soft  inner  bark  or 
bast,  or  pliant  leaves.  On  the  other  hand,  it  may  be  soft  fillets  of  ash 
and  stems  of  willow  or  coarse  brushes  as  in  the  fish  weir.  When  the 
projecting  elements  are  intractable  the  possibilities  of  plain  geometric 
ornamentation  are  limited  in  the  extreme,  but  with  fibers  highly  flex 
ible  and  well- soaked  materials  the  field  of  the  decorator  becomes 
greatly  enlarged. 

Plate  52,  a  large  bottle-shaped  granary  of  the  San  Carlos  Apache 
Indians  belonging  to  the  fine  collection  of  F.  S.  Plimpton,  of  San 
Diego,  California,  shows  what  is  meant  by  proportion.  Upon  the 
surface  of  this  coiled  basket  will  be  found  stepped  patterns  rising  in 
a  cycloids  from  the  bottom  to  the  neck  and  even  to  the  rim  of  the 
specimen.  Each  one  of  these  spaces  is  covered  with  black  and  white 
rectangles,  or  as  near  as  rectangular  forms  can  be  made  on  a  globular 
surface  governed  in  length  and  width  by  the  widening  or  narrowing 
of  the  specimen.  In  the  spaces  between  these  patterns  so  made  up 
are  men  and  horses,  but  even  these  have  square  heads,  bodies,  legs, 
and  feet.  The  fingers  on  the  men  are  in  proper  shape.  An  amusing 
departure  is  manifest  in  the  effort  to  give  a  little  shape  to  the  tails 
and  ears  of  the  horses. 

(c)  Rliomboidal  figure*. — With   the   parallelogram   or   rhomb,    the 


298  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

surface  of  the  basket  has  a  tessellated  or  mosaic  appearance.  These 
figures  also  may  be  oriented  with  reference  to  the  borders,  but  the 
patterns  become  oblique,  and  more  pleasing  diaper  effects  are  caused 
when  the  figures  are  not  oriented  with  reference  to  the  horizon  or 
border.  Plate  53  shows  a  number  of  beautiful  bowls  in  the  collec 
tion  of  C.  P.  Wilcomb  from  Kern,  In}ro,  and  Tulare  counties,  Cali 
fornia.  They  are  introduced  here  for  the  purpose  of  showing  how, 
on  many  of  them,  diamond-shaped  patterns  have  been  worked  into 
basketry  Avith  excellent  effect.  Associated  with  these  geometric  form 
polygons  are  also  the  elements  of  cycloids,  covering  almost  the  entire 
surface.  Radiating  from  the  bottom,  triangular  spokes  proceed  to  the 
outer  margin  and  these  are  decorated  with  diamond  patterns  and 
irregular  polygons.  The  human  form  and  other  typical  patterns  are 
united  with  those  now  under  consideration.  The  majority  of  the 
decoration,  however,  is  in  the  simple  elementary  geometric  shape 
here  considered. 

(d)  Triangles. — On  the  surface  of  basketry  the  triangle,  as  an  element 
of  design  in  mosaic,  does  not  occur  in  the  single  stitch  or  check,  but  it 
is  found  in  open-work  basketry,  as  among  the  Aleuts,  where  the  warp 
is  bent  backward  and  forward  or  crossed.  By  the  combination  of 
elementary  parts  triangular  effects  in  great  variety  are  obtained.  In 
this  technic  a  triangle  is  not  a  three-sided  figure  with  straight  outline, 
but  a  pyramid  made  by  piling  up  rectangles,  vertical  or  radial  in 
coiled  basketry,  horizontal  or  concentric  in  woven  basketry.  The 
base  of  the  triangle  may  be  straight  but  the  sides  are  notched  and 
stepped  as  in  the  bead  work. 

A  great  many  symbolical  designs  of  arrowheads,  mountains,  and 
other  artificial  and  natural  objects  which  suggest  the  three-sided  form 
are  produced  on  both  coiled  and  woven  basketry,  the  base  of  the  tri 
angle  being  at  the  top,  at  the  bottom,  or  on  either  side  of  the  figure. 
The  conical  or  the  globular  basket  lends  itself  most  cheerfully  to  this 
element  in  design.  On  cylindrical,  and  especially  on  vertical  vasi- 
formed  basketry,  for  ornamental  effects  the  triangle  easily  passes  into 
curved  figures  of  infinite  variety.  After  the  foundation  of  the  figure 
is  laid  on  a  certain  round  of  weaving  or  coiling  it  is  possible  on  the 
next  round  to  widen  or  narrow  above  either  end  of  this  line.  In  some 
examples  a  sweeping  cycloid  beginning  at  the  base,  narrows  and  curves 
to  the  right  or  left,  terminating  with  the  outer  border.  The  Filipino 
hat  makers  are  exceedingly  fond  of  creating  a  series  of  these  triangle 
cycloids  in  different  colors,  some  of  them  turning  to  the  right,  others 
to  the  left.  The  California  basket  maker  also  produces  name-like 
effects  with  elongated  triangles.  There  seems  to  be  no  end  to  the 
versatility  of  this  figure  on  globular  basketry. 

Plate  5tt  represents  two  of  the  Tulare  bowls  in  the  collection  of 
F.  S.  Plimpton.  The  upper  figure,  especially,  shows  in  its  bands  of 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  299 

decoration  in  brown  and  black  how  the  rhomb  and  triangle  cooperate 
to  produce  regular  and  pleasing  decoration.  The  lower  figure  is  a 
better  illustration  of  the  use  of  narrow  parallelograms,  combined  in 
lines  concentric  and  radial,  to  give  expression  to  phenomena  such  as 
lightning. 

Plate  55  is  an  imbricated  box  from  the  Fraser  River  country,  in 
British  Columbia.  Excepting  the  parallel  bands,  the  front  and  body 
of  the  basket  are  covered  with  white  and  dark-brown  triangles,  no  other 
elementary  geometric  figure  being  introduced.  Each  triangle  is  an 
example  of  the  limitations  before  mentioned,  which  practically  cut  the 
basket  maker  off  from  free-hand  drawing.  The  geometricians  say  that 
a  circle  is  a  polygon  with  an  infinite  number  of  sides.  With  them  all 
curved  lines  resolve  themselves  into  the  rectilinear.  The  basket  maker 
does  not  stop  there,  but  resolves  rectilinear  forms  into  still  minuter 
rectilinear  forms  of  another  class.  The  mosaic  elements  on  the  basket 
are  most  regular  squares  of  imbrication.  There  is  for  her  no  other 
way  to  make  a  triangle.  This  specimen  is  in  the  collection  of 
F.  Harvey. 

(e)  Polygonal  elements. — What  has  been  said  of  the  triangle  is  also 
true  of  polygonal  figures — that  is,  of  those  having  more  than  four 
sides.  These  figures  may  be  produced  in  the  texture  of  baskets  in 
openwork.  They  are  also  brought  about  b}^  uniting  different  forms  of 
checks  or  stitches  in  the  same  piece  of  work.  On  the  hats  of  the  Haida 
Indians  and  on  twined  work  of  the  Pacific  coast  excellent  diaper  pat 
terns  are  woven.  In  closely  packed  basketry  the  individual  stitches 
assume  the  form  of  the  hexagon,  after  the  manner  of  the  bee's  cell. 
On  matting,  wallets,  bags — that  is,  on  flat  surfaces — all  of  the  geomet 
ric  figures  before  mentioned  having  straight  borders  occur.  In  many 
rhombs  the  ends  are  cut  off  by  boundary  lines  of  bands  and  turned 
into  hexagons. 

However,  as  soon  as  basketry  begins  to  assume  curved  outlines, 
borders  that  would  be  straight  on  a  flat  surface  are  bent  in  one  or 
more  directions.  The  effect  of  this,  both  in  the  single  mosaic  element 
and  in  the  larger  designs,  is  to  change  the  figure  from  a  hard  outline 
to  one  that  is  far  more  graceful.  In  a  coiled  basket  the  foundation 
coil  is  curved  horizontally,  but  the  stitches  cross  these  at  right 
angles.  In  a  coiled  bowl  with  globose  bottom  there  are  three  sets 
of  curves  with  different  radii — the  horizontal  curve  of  the  founda 
tion,  the  curve  of  the  pattern,  and  the  vertical  curves  of  the  stitches. 
The  shapes  of  polygons  that  may  be  worked  on  the  surface  of 
basketry  are  legion.  The  designs  which  may  be  made  out  of  these 
are  even  more  numerous.  It  will  be  possible  to  illustrate  only  a 
limited  number  of  them,  but  the  reader  may  be  pleased  to  turn  from 
plate  to  plate  in  the  decorations  on  the  surface  of  basketry  in  the 
various  chapters  to  see  how  versatile  the  Indian  woman's  mind  was  in 


300  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 

making-  the  best  of  her  limitations.  Being  confined  to  angular  ele 
ments,  having  no  opportunity  to  introduce  the  curve,  exeept  so  far  as 
the  body  of  the  basket  itself  made  straight  lines  curved,  it  became 
necessary  to  rack  her  ingenious  brain  to  satisfy  her  cravings  for  ex 
pression  of  the  beautiful  with  straight  lines  only.  (See  Plates  56-59.) 

(/)  Complex  pattern*. — The  most  striking  artistic  effects  in  basketry 
are  realized  when  the  simple  lines,  bands,  and  geometric  figures  arc 
united  and  modified  to  suit  the  weaver's  fancy,  to  iit  the  general  shape 
of  the  object,  and  oftentimes  to  correct  a  miscalculation  on  the  part 
of  the  maker.  The  effect  of  lines  is  changed  bv  breaking,  curving, 
setting  at  different  angles,  widening,  and  coloring.  Geometric  figures 
become  subsidiary  to  and  arc  lost  in  mythological  compositions,  but 
they  are  the  organic  parts  of  the  whole  design. 

Plate  60  will  illustrate  what  is  here  said  about  the  production  of 
intricate  designs  by  combining  two  or  more  of  the  separate  elements 
isi  the  foregoing  paragraphs.  In  every  one  of  the  bowls  shown  in 
this  plate  a  circular  form  in  basket  work  is  attained  by  using  material 
of  the  same  color  in  the  coiling  at  the  bottom.  From  these  central 
beginnings  designs  in  triangles,  squares,  rectangles,  and  polygons  are 
built  up  into  labyrinthian  decorations  for  the  whole  surface.  In  the 
middle  figure  of  the  bottom  row  five  patterns  radiate  from  the  central 
circle,  each  one  of  which  is  made  up  of  three  groups  of  rectangular 
figures  in  black  and  white.  Specimens  are  in  the  collection,  of  J.  W. 
Benham. 

Plate  61  will  interest  the  student  as  an  example  of  bold  design,  being 
the  American  eagle,  with  expanded  wings.  It  will  surprise  him  to 
note  how,  with  the  use  of  straight-line  figures  before  mentioned,  some 
little  life  is  given  to  the  neck  and  to  the  talons  of  the  bird  by  the  fine 
marking  of  stitches,  which  lend  themselves  somewhat  to  curved  effects. 
It  can  not  be  said,  however,  that  this  treatment  is  a  success. 

ORNAMENTATION  THROUGH  COLOR 

Quite  as  much  as  form,  the  colors  in  basketry  are  an  element  of 
beauty.  As  in  basket  forms  the  sense  of  pleasure  is  awakened  by  the 
mass,  by  the,  minute  elements,  and  l^the  shape  of  patterns  or  designs, 
so  it  is  with  colors.  One  does  not  know  which  to  admire  the  most— 
the  subdued  shades  of  the  natural  materials,  the  pretty  effects  of  the 
infinite  variety  of  hues  in  the  stitches,  or  the  combinations  of  patterns 
in  ornamentation  through  colors  furnished  by  Nature's  laboratory, 
which  the  importunate  Indian  women  of  America  have  secured  in  their 
tireless  quest.  The  gamut  of  shades  runs  from  pure  white  through 
the  yellows  and  browns  to  sooty  black,  and  age  only  ripens  the  effects. 
The  peculiar  golden  shade  of  an  old  piece  from  California  will  set  the 
connoisseur's  face  aglow.  No  doubt  a  part  of.  this  admiration  springs 
from  association  of  ideas  such  as  age,  rareness,  the  seeming  disparity 
between  the  maker  and  her  art,  and,  maybe,  the  pride  of  ownership. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  301 

When  it  is  remembered  that  for  utilitarian  purposes  merely  not  one 
speck  of  this  artistic  coloring1  is  needed,  and  further  noted  that  great 
fatigue  and  search  and  critical  judgment  are  necessary  in  order  to 
assemble  materials  for  a  single  basket,  surely  no  one  will  withhold 
admiration  from  the  creator  of  colored  ornamentation  in  basketry. 
One  can  scarcely  begin  to  appreciate  her  struggles  and  triumphs  until 
the  effort  is  made  to  reproduce  her  results. 

Ornamentation  by  means  of  color  is  effected  in  basketry  through 
the  following  processes,  already  hinted  at  in  the  chapter  on  basket 
making: 

(a)  By  employing  materials  which  are  of  different  colors  by  nature. 
This  has  been  partly  described  in  the  foregoing  sections. 

(&)  By  the  use  of  dyed  materials. 

(c)  By  overlaying  the  weft  and  warp  with  thin  strips  of  pretty  mate 
rials  before  weaving  or  by  wrapping  strips  about   them   in  various 
ways. 

(d)  By  embroidering  on  the  texture  during  the  process  of  manufac 
ture,  called  false  embroidery. 

(e)  By  covering  the  texture  with  plaiting,  called  imbrication. 

(f)  By"  adding  feathers,  shells,  beads,  and  other  ornamental  objects. 
In  the  making  of  designs  on  basketry,   dyeing,  overlaying,  false 

embroidery,  and  imbrication  are  merely  artificial  methods  of  repeat 
ing  arid  heightening  the  decorative  effects  already  shown  to  be  possible 
through  use  of  materials  in  their  native  colors.  No  new  designs  are 
added,  symbolical  or  otherwise.  The  effect  of  new  forms  in  elementary 
technic  has  already  been  mentioned.  But  the  artist  obtains  an  Immense 
advantage  in  the  number  of  colors  as  well  as  the  richness  of  shades 
and  harmonies.  After  all,  excepting  in  California,  there  are  only  a 
few  colors  in  tough  fibers  to  select  from  in  any  area.  If  it  were  not 
for  pretty  grasses  which  have  brilliancy  of  color,  but  little  tenacity, 
and  the  bright  dyes  in  mineral  and  vegetal  substances  which  have  no 
value  as  textiles,  the  aesthetic  power  of  basketry  would  be  greatly 
curtailed.  There  are  two  or  three  small  linguistic  families  of  Indians 
in  California  that  seem  to  have  gathered  unto  themselves  every  kind 
of  basket  decoration.  As  in  the  island  of  Crete  the  culture  of  the 
ancient  peoples  about  the  eastern  Mediterranean  seem  to  have  assem 
bled,  so  in  the  Porno  and  Mariposan  tribes  of  Indians  the  composite 
art  reached  its  climax  of  decoration.  Is  it  not  marvelous  that  here 
hundreds  of  years  ago,  perhaps,  broke  out  the  first  basketry  epidemic; 
not  as  now  resulting  in  a  fever  to  own  them  merely,  but  manifesting 
itself  in  a  passion  for  making  them.  In  the  chapter  on  uses  it  will  be 
seen  that  this  passion  was  intimately  related  to  the  most  sacred  feel 
ings  that  dwelt  in  the  soul  of  the  maker,  namely,  those  associated  with 
the  spirit  world.  It  is  also  true  that  the  natural  materials  for  other 
forms  of  art  expression  were  lacking  or  not  courted. 

(a)  In  natural  materials. — Color  in  basketry  is  effected,  first,  by  the 


302  EEPOKT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

materials  from  which  the  structure  is  made  up.  In  the  Aleutian 
Islands  the  ware  is  in  the  color  of  the  wild  grass  stalks,  unripe  and 
ripe;  farther  south  the  spruce  root  decides  the  shade,  and  in  British 
Columbia  cedar  root  and  bast  and  bark  give  a  brown  or  white  appear 
ance  to  the  ware.  In  eastern  Canada  ash  splints  are  white  and  brown; 
so  are  the  baskets  made  therefrom,  but  the  cane  of  the  Southern  States 
has  a  glossy  yellow-green  surface,  and  that  predominates  in  Cherokee 
and  Choctaw  ware. 

Among  the  bewildering  varieties  of  baskets  between  British  Colum 
bia  and  Mexico  the  foundation  colors  will  be  decided  by  that  of  the 
Indian  hemp,  spruce  and  cedar  root,  bulrushes,  cattail  stems,  shoots 
of  willow  and  rhus,  roots  of  sedges  and  agave,  roots  of  yucca,  and 
so  on. 

In  this  connection  it  must  not  be  overlooked  that  these  same 
materials  are  not  lacking  in  responsiveness  to  the  severest  aesthetic 
demands  of  the  artist.  The  Abenaki  woman  knows  that  last  year's 
growth  of  black  ash  is  almost  as  white  as  snow,  while  the  rings  of 
growth  farther  in  are  brown.  She  therefore  makes  warp  of  one  and 
weft  of  the  other,  or  bands  of  them  alternately,  much  to  the  embel 
lishment  of  the  surface.  The  commonest  fishwoman  on  the  coast  of 
British  Columbia  will  show  you  that  cedar  root  has  three  colors — that 
of  the  woody  portion,  the  brown  of  the  outer  bark,  and  the  newest 
wood  nearest  to  the  bark.  She  also  knows  how  to  overlay  with 
grasses.  The  California  cercis,  or  red  bud,  has  a  pretty  reddish- 
brown  bark,  but  the  wood  inside  is  pure  white.  Remarkable  sug- 
gestiveness  to  a  wide-awake  mind  exists  in  the  yucca  leaf  of  the 
Southwest,  which  may  be  used  in  basketry,  whole  or  split.  The  out 
side  is  mottled  green  in  a  number  of  shades,  while  the  inside  is  white. 
The  leaf  of  the  yucca  ( Yucca  arborescens)  is  green,  the  root  a  reddish 
brown. 

Holmes  calls  attention  to  the  possibilities  of  aesthetic  effects  in  a 
single  color  shown  in  a  workbasket  from  the  ancient  cemetery  of 
Ancon,  Peru,  produced  through  variety  in  the  management  of  diag 
onal  weaving.  There  will  be  found  on  all  these  workbaskets  (1)  ordi 
nary  diagonal  weaving,  over  and  under  two  or  three  or  more;  (2)  bands 
of  greater  or  less  width  formed  by  laying  a  piece  of  wood  or  cane 
between  warp  and  weft  and  then  continuing  the  weaving  on  the  other 
side;  (3)  the  forming  of  hinges  and  ridges  by  twining  in  each  weft 
element  about  two  or  three  warps  before  continuing  the  weaving. 
The  herringbone  effects  are  produced  by  leaving  in  front  alternately 
warp  and  weft  in  the  padded  bands.  If  the  number  of  rows  of  com 
mon  diagonal  weaving  is  even,  a  herringbone  effect  is  seen;  if  odd,  the 
checks  in  the  two  rows  will  be  parallel.  In  Mexico  and  Central 
America  the  valuable  yuccas  give  color  to  all  textiles,  as  do  the  palm 
leaves  in  South  America.  (See  figs.  207-209.) 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  303 

It  is  said  that  the  Japanese  in  sawing  up  logs  will  keep  the  planks 
bound  together  until  the  workman  is  ready  to  use  them,  and  when  the 
carpenter  places  them  in  a  ceiling  or  a  piece  of  furniture  he  is  careful 
to  have  the  ends  abut  on  each  other  as  they  were  together  in  nature. 
The  grain,  in  such  case,  fits  and  produces  odd  but  pleasing  forms.  In 
the  same  way  the  basket  maker,  by  showing  discretion  and  taste  with 
roots  or  stems  of  different  shades,  succeeds  in  producing  cloud  effects 
upon  the  basket  or  mat.  So  nature  comes  in  to  the  assistance  of  the 
Indian  woman  in  her  elementary  steps.  She  does  not  start  out  with 
the  design  in  her  mind  which  she  will  produce  in  color,  but  by  using 
the  colored  elements  she  is  able  to  get  her  effect  with  less  forethought. 
Indeed,  it  can  be  seen  that  in  such  a  way  the  earliest  thoughts  of  beauty 
might  have  been  awakened. 

Plate  62  shows  two  coiled  Mission  baskets  in  the  collection  of  Gr. 
Wharton  James;  the  upper  one  is  10  inches  and  the  lower  one  llf 
inches  in  diameter.  They  are  made  of  rush,  but  the  interesting  fea 
ture  for  which  they  are  introduced  here  is  the  design — the  upper 
figure  might  be  called  the  keystone  pattern,  the  body  of  the  bowl 
having  two  zones  of  patterns  in  brown  and  black  material,  each  one 
made  up  of  wedge-shaped  figures,  narrow  on  the  inside  and  widening 
outward.  These  patterns  are  in  four  parts,  each  one  surmounted  by 
a  middle  piece  extending  two  rows  beyond  the  next  pair  and  each  pair 
of  the  series  ending  two  rows  nearer  to  the  center.  They  are  of  equal 
width.  A  narrow  wedge  separates  the  four  groups.  Between  the 
zones  is  a  band  of  white  preserving  the  outline  of  the  border.  The 
lower  figure  is  a  five-pointed  star,  the  border  of  the  segments  being 
curved  as  in  the  orange-peel  pattern.  The  central  figure  might  be 
called  a  sun  design,  which,  though  it  be  modern,  shows  the  adaptabil 
ity  of  the  Indian  mind  to  invasion  by  suggestion. 

A  second  step  in  color  resources,  without  going  away  from  the 
natural  and  necessary  structural  elements,  is  in  the  use  of  different 
materials.  Very  few  areas  in  the  Western  Hemisphere  are  so  poor 
in  resources  as  to  have  only  one  good  basketry  plant.  On  the  Great 
Lakes  ash,  hemp,  and  sweet  grass  are  white,  brown,  and  green;  in 
the  Southwest  rhus  is  white  and  martynia  is  black;  in  California  willow 
is  woody  white;  cercis  is  red  outside  and  snow-white  inside,  and  at 
least  one  sedge  has  black  root,  and  the  yucca  a  red  one.  Most  dainty 
effects  are  secured  in  coiled  basketry  by  sewing  with  strips  from  quills 
of  flickers  and  other  highly  colored  birds.  Not  to  pursue  the  state 
ment  too  far,  it  is  only  in  Alaska  and  the  Straits  of  Magellan  that  the 
body  of  our  textile  does  not  contain  varied  material. 

The  moment  a  savage  woman  has  in  hand  these  variegated  substances 
her  fancy  is  emancipated.  Warp  may  be  of  one  plant  and  weft  of 
another,  either  in  plain  checker  or  in  twilled  weaving.  Wickerwork 
is  not  entirely  irresponsive  to  the  opportunity.  In  twined  weaving 


304  EEPOKT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

the  two  strands  of  the  weft  may  differ  in  color,  so  that  the  result  will 
be  the  mottled  line.  If  the  warp  stems  be  odd  in  number,  then  on  the 
next  round  the  colors  on  vertical  lines  will  not  match.  With  these 
simple  resources  the  basket-maker  may  play  an  unlimited  number  of 
melodies.  An  excellent  example  of  lines  in  simple  and  two-color 
effects  from  southeastern  Alaska  is  shown  in  colored  plate  67. 

But  the  ambitious  artist  is  not  satisfied  with  ffecked  lines  and  mottled 
surfaces,  and  broad  bands  in  one  color.  Her  bands  are  divided  into 
rectangles,  triangles,  and  rhomboidal  elements.  The  zones  of  element 
are  widened  and  the  geometric  patterns  composing  them  are  multi 
plied  and  variegated.  Those  who  have  large  collections  may  have 
noticed  how  the  several  styles  of  technic  behave  in  this  regard. 
Checkerwork  is  little  restrained,  so  also  are  wicker  and  twilled  orna 
mentation;  but  in  twined  and  coiled  ware  the  case  is  entirely  differ 
ent.  Plain  twine  and  the  Porno  tee  work  venture  little  beyond  the 
banded  ornament.  The  same  is  true  of  most  coil  types;  but  the 
twilled  or  diagonal-twined  work  and  the  three-rod  coil  leap  over  the 
parallels  and  spread  themselves  out  in  bewildering  cycloids  of  colored 
patterns,  or,  keeping  to  the  angular  elements,  the  weaver  covers  a  large 
surface  with  fretwork  in  endless  variety.  All  of  this  is  wrought  into 
the  structure  of  the  basket  in  the  substantial  everyday  material,  which 
possess  tenacity  and  color  as  well.  Quite  a  number  of  tribes  in  the 
southwestern  United  States  use  no  superadded  material  or  dyes  what 
ever,  and  yet  the  tribes  of  the  Piman  family  excel  all  others  in  the 
endless  variety  of  fretwork  on  their  basketry  produced  with  splints  in 
wood  color  and  the  undyed  splints  from  the  pod  of  the  cat's  claw,  or 
Martynia  louisiana.  (See  Plate  63.) 

(b)  J3y  dyeing. — The  colors  of  natural  textile  materials  were  still 
further  diversified  with  dyes  and  paints,  the  latter  either  stamped, 
stenciled,  or  applied  freehand.  At  the  present  time  the  cheap  and 
obtrusive  dyes  and  paints  of  the  trades  supplant  the  aboriginal  and 
more  attractive  substances.  The  latter  have  also  become  more  diffi 
cult  to  procure  as  civilization  has  preempted  the  ground. 

The  artificial  coloration  of  basketry  material  was  known  to  the 
American  savages  in  pre-Columbian  times.  For  mineral  dyes  they 
use  earth  colors,  burying  the  splints  in  different  soils,  where  they 
acquired  permanent  shades.  Vegetable  dyes  were  known  from  Alaska 
southward  everywhere.  The  substances  used  were  such  as  have  the 
power  of  directly  fixing  themselves  within  the  texture  of  the  basket 
material.  It  is  true  and  also  interesting  to  note  that  certain  of  the 
processes  of  the  Indians  in  dyeing  their  basketry  materials  were,  all 
unconsciously  to  them,  foreshadowings  of  the  later  and  more  compli 
cated  processes  in  which  a  mordant  is  employed  to  fix  the  dyestuff  * 
the  materials.  The  Indian  had  no  knowledge  of  the  effects  prod 
They  discovered  the  fact,  but  their  theories  would  lead  into  di 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  305 

myths  in  which  the  personeity  of  the  dyestuff  would  be  the  prominent 
characteristic. 

Plate  64  shows  twilled  basket  No.  76778,  U.S.N.M.,  from  the  New 
Orleans  Centennial  Commission.  It  is  a  basket  of  the  Chetimacha 
Indians  of  Louisiana  made  in  split  cane  in  the  natural  color  and  dyed. 
The  union  of  textile  effects  and  the  three  colors — orange,  black,  and 
straw  color-  -are  most  pleasing,  the  motive  being  ellipsis  and  rhombs 
made  by  the  use  of  small  squares  and  rectangles.  The  upper  portion 
of  the  figure  also  shows  how  a  diaper  effect  may  be  produced  on  the 
surface  by  the  lights  and  shades  of  the  uncolored  material. 

It  is  useless  to  tarry  about  the  eastern  basket  makers  in  search  of 
native  dyes.  There  is  no  doubt  of  their  having  possessed  them.  The 
porcupine-quill  workers  about  the  Great  Lakes  and  all  the  way  to  the 
Arctic  circle  are  still  adepts  in  the  art.  In  the  National  Museum  are 
little  wallets  of  bladder  from  Anderson  River,  Canada,  each  one  filled 
with  porcupine  quills  dyed  in  a  separate  color. 

The  basket  weavers  of  Yakutat  Bay,  in  southeastern  Alaska,  color 
their  splints  of  spruce  root  from  which  they  weave  their  twined  bas 
ketry  with  dye  from  the  willow.  They  scrape  the  roots  of  willow 
and  make  a  decoction  in  a  wooden  tub  in  which  they  soak  the  spruce- 
root  splints.  Their  neighbors  of  the  same  linguistic  family  had  a 
more  extensive  laboratory  in  color.  For  more  than  a  hundred  years 
they  were  in  contact  with  the  Russians  and  from  them  obtained  good 
dye-stuffs  and  knowledge  of  processes.  Many  an  old  piece  of  their 
basket  ware,  although  it  has  stood  hard  use  in  all  the  years  and  in  spite 
of  all,  has  grown  more  beautiful  with  age. 

Plate  65  shows  two  covered  baskets  of  the  Tlinkit  Indians  in  twined 
work  which  are  inserted  here  for  the  purpose  of  exhibiting  the  influ 
ence  of  modern  traffic.  Caesar  in  his  Commentaries  speaks  of  the 
Belgians  as  being  the  most  manly  of  all  the  Gallic  tribes,  because  mer 
chants  less  frequently  went  among  them  and  sold  them  the  things  that 
tended  toward  effeminating  their  minds.  The  Mercatores  have  also 
been  among  the  tribes  of  the  Northwest.  On  the  right-hand  basket 
even  the  bands  that  would  show  some  little  survival  of  the  ancient  wood 
color  have  been  dyed,  while  the  red,  yellow,  black,  and  white  shades 
are  in  aniline.  The  form  of  these  baskets  is  also  borrowed  from 
civilization,  and  the  handles  in  braided  ware  are  not  aboriginal.  Cat. 
Nos.  168267,  168268. 

The  wood  of  the  alder,  when  freshly  cut,  says  Swan,a  is  soft  and 
white  and  easily  worked,  but  a  short  exposure  to  the  air  hardens  and 
turns  it  to  a  red  color.  The  bark  chewed  and  spit  into  a  dish  forms  a 
bright- red  dye  pigment  of  a  permanent  color,  which  is  used  for  dyeing 

«  The  Indians  of  Cape  Flattery,  Washington,  1870,  p.  43. 
NAT   MUS   1902 20 


306  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

cedar  bark  or  grass.  Governor  Dag-get,  writing  of  the  Indian  women 
on  the  Hupa  reservation  in  northwestern  California,  uses  almost  pre 
cisely  the  same  language  with  reference  to  making  a  dye  pot  of  their 
mouths.  The  processes  of  weaving  there  are  in  twined  work  and  sug 
gest  connection  with  the  Washington  state  tribes. 

The  Navaho  Indians,  according  to  Washington  Matthews,  empk>3T 
native  d}Tcs  of  yellow,  reddish,  and  black.  In  their  blankets  they  have 
also  wool  of  three  different  natural  colors,  white,  rusty  black,  and  gray. 
The  black  dye  is  made  from  the  twigs  and  leaves  of  aromatic  sumac 
(films  irU<>l>«ta  ).  They  put  into  a  pot  of  water  leaves  and  branches  of 
the  sumac.  The  water  is  allowed  to  boil  live  or  six  hours.  Ocher  is 
reduced  to  a  fine  powder  and  slowly  roasted  over  a  fire  until  it  assumes  a 
light-brown  color.  It  is  then  combined  with  an  equal  quantity  of  Pinon 
gum  (Pinus  edidis),  and  again  the  mixture  is  placed  upon  the  fire  and 
stirred.  The  gum  melts  and  the  mass  assumes  a  mushy  consistencv.  As 
the  roasting  progresses  the  mass  is  reduced  to  a  fine  black  powder. 
When  it  has  cooled  it  is  thrown  into  the  decoction  of  sumac,  with  which 
it  forms  a  rich,  blue-black  fluid.  This  is  essentially  an  ink,  the  tannic 
acid  of  the  sumac  combining  with  the  iron  of  the  ferric  oxide  in  the 
roasted  ocher.  The  whole  is  enriched  by  the  carbon  of  the  calcined 
gum. 

Reddish  dye  is  made  from  the  bark  of  the  Alnus  tenui folia  and 
the  bark  and  root  of  Cercocarpus parvifolius,  the  mordant  being  fine 
juniper  ashes.  These  dyes  are  now  applied  by  the  Navaho.  The 
so-called  Navaho  blankets  are  in  three  colors. 

For  yellow  the  flowering  tops  of  Chrysothamnusgraveolens&v&  boiled 
about  six  hours,  until  a  decoction  of  deep  yellow  is  produced.  The 
dyer  then  heats  over  the  fire  some  native  alunogen  (native  alum) 
until  it  is  reduced  to  a  pasty  consistency.  This  she  adds  to  the 
decoction  and  puts  the  whole  in  the  dye  to  boil.  From  time  to  time 
a  portion  is  inspected  until  it  is  seen  to  have  assumed  the  proper 
color.  The  tint  produced  is  nearly  lemon  yellow. 

Julian  Scott  makes  the  statement  that  the  Coconinos  or  Havasupais 
in  northwestern  Arizona  use  only  black  in  the  ornamentation  of  their 
basketry,  while  the  Apaches  and  Wallapais  use  black  and  red  also. 

(c)  By  overlaying. — This  process  of  ornamentation  consists  in  lay 
ing  a  strip  of  pretty  grass,  dyed  or  in  the  natural  color,  on  the  out 
side  of  one  or  both  the  strands  in  woven  or  coiled  weaving.  It  is 
virtually  furnishing  a  dull-brown  strip  of  root  with  a  bright-colored 
bark.  By  this  ingenious  combination  beauty  and  strength  cooperate 
in  the  result.  The  weaver  has  it  always  in  her  power  to  twist  the 
strand  so  as  to  hide  this  bark  side  or  bring  it  into  view.  The  Hupa 
Indians  especially,  but  many  other  tribes  in  northern  California  and 
northward,  do  the  weft  of  their  beautiful  twined  weaving  in  somber 
materials.  The  men  are  most  adept  in  lining  the  backs  of  their  bows 


ABOKIGLNAL    AMERICAN    BASKETBY. 


307 


with  sinew  shredded  and  mixed  in  glue.  In  a  similar  way,  as  though 
one  had  suggested  the  other,  they  line  the  back  of  the  weft  strands 
with  bright  straw.  It  is  not  glued,  since  the  weaving  would  hold  it 
in  place.  When  the  Hupa  reveals  the  straw  side  of  the  strand  at  every 
half  turn,  she  covers  the  surface  of  her  basket  with  straw  color  which 
turns  to  gold  with  age.  The  overlaying  of  only  one  of  the  two  weft 
strands  gives  a  freckled  effect  on  the  surface.  In  some  of  the  tribes 
the  pattern  does  not  show  on  the  inside. 

This  will  be  a  good  place  in  which  to  mention  a  kind  of  overlaying 
common  in  countries  where  the  cane  abounds.  The  outside  of  the 
stem  is  glossy  and  may  be  dyed.  The  inside  is  spongy  and  unat 
tractive.  By  laying  two  strips  together,  so  that  the  smooth  surface 
may  be  outward,  there  would  be  really  a  double  fabric  with  two 
glossy  surfaces.  The  southern  Indians  also  frequently  passed  only 
one  of  the  pair  of  splints  over  or  under  weaving. 

Fig.  101  shows  a  style  of  wrapping  done  in  Mexico  City."  The  illus 
tration  is  from  a  hand  wallet. 
The  body  of  the  checker 
weaving  is  in  hard,  flattened 
straws  of  varying  shades. 
Each  warp  straw  is  wrapped 
wTith  two  fillets  of  thin  mate 
rial  in  darker  color  so  as  to 
leave  small  squares  on  the  sur 
face  set  diagonally.  When 
the  plain  weft  is  run  among 
the  warp  elements,  the  sur 
face  of  the  fabric  is  covered 
with  larger  and  smaller 
squares  in  white  set  in  tri 
angles  of  darker  material.  The  white  squares  run  diagonally  across 
the  surface.  There  are  endless  variations  produced  by  this  wrapping 
added  to  the  body  of  the  fabric. 

This  overlaying  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  many  tricks  which 
cunning  women  play  with  the  strands  of  the  regular  twined  weaving, 
which  are  frequently  of  brilliant  straws  of  squaw  grass  and  other 
pretty  materials.  (See  Plates  146,  164,  170,  177  and  178.) 

Plate  66  represents  twined  basketry  of  the  Klamath  River  Indians 
of  various  types,  and  is  here  introduced  for  the  purpose  of  showing 
how  the  tough  weaving  material  may  be  overlaid  with  basketry  and 
other  colored  filaments  so  as  to  conceal  the  foundation  both  outside 
and  inside.  It  has  been  shown  in  the  chapter  on  processes.,  however, 
that  the  exposure  of  the  overlaying  material  need  not  occur  on  the 

«  W.  H.  Holmes,  Sixth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  1888,  p.  227,  fig.  330. 


FIG.  101. 
WRAPPING  WEFT  FILLETS  WITH  DARKER  ONES. 

After  W.  H.  Holmes. 


308  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

inside.  These  specimens  are  Cat.  Nos.  204258,  collected  by  Mrs. 
Carolyn  G.  Benjamin;  and  Nos.  19286  and  19282,  collected  by  Living 
ston  Stone. 

Akin  to  the  "  beading,"  so  common  in  the  Fraser  River  coiled  bas 
ketry  to  be  mentioned,  is  an  ornamental  effect  produced  in  twined 
work  by  the  onlaying  of  colored  straws  in  regular  geometrical  designs 
and  catching  the  angle  under  the  strand  of  the  weft.  Holmes  a  figures 
an  example  of  this  from  the  Klamath  Indians  in  northwestern  Cali 
fornia,  a  rare  process  in  North  American  Indian  basketry.  (See  tig. 
102.)  It  reminds  one  of  the  stamps  for  printing  tapa  cloth  used  in  the 
Polynesian  area. 

Beading  is  the  insertion  of  narrow  strips  of  pretty  grass  or  other 
material  into  the  sewing  of  coiled  baskets,  passing  it  under  one,  over 
the  next,  and  so  on.  Plain  beading  produces  a  broken  line  of  dark 
and  light  color  alternating,  and  shifts  the  direction  of  the  elemental 

hVure  from  vertical  to  hori- 

O 

zontal.  If  several  rows  are 
made,  figures  are  produced  by 
the  "process  of  twilled  weaving. 
The  basket  maker  may  pass 
her  filament  over  and  under  as 
many  stitches  as  she  chooses; 
she  may  make  the  elements 
of  any  row  immediately  over 
those  of  the  preceding  row,  or 
BEADING  ON  TWINED  WORK.  they  may  alternate.  The  Fra- 

Kiamath  Indians.  ser  River  Salish  are  adept  in 

this  on  many  of  their  imbri 
cated  baskets.  Especially  on  the  ware  whose  coils  have  flat  founda 
tions  is  beading  effective.  (See  fig.  103.) 

(d)  false  embroidery. — This  is  a  method  of  ornamentation  in  which 
the  outer  surface  of  a  twined  basket  is  covered  wholly  or  in  part  with 
designs,  but  they  do  not  show  on  the  inside.  The  Tlinkits  excel  in 
this,"calling  it  uh  tah  yark  tu  twage  (outside  lifted  up  and  put  around). 
It  has  the  appearance  of  being  sewed  on  after  the  weaving  is  done. 
The  process  is  described  on  the  next  page,  and  many  figures  in  this 
paper  show  examples  of  it.  Plates  71  and  74,  in  color,  demonstrate 
more  plainly  how  effective  false  embroidery  may  be  made.  The  body 
of  all  Tlinkit  and  Haida  ware  is  in  dull-brown  shade  of  spruce  root. 
The  saving  feature  which  lends  itself  cheerfully  to  ornamentation  is 
the  pliability  and  even  fiber  of  the  young  roots.  Nothing  can  be  more 
pleasing  to  the  eye  than  a  fine  old  Haida  hat,  its  surface  covered  with 
intricate  patterns.  The  Tlinkit  false  embroidery  in  subdued  colors, 
yellow,  red,  and  black,  contrasts  harmoniously  with  the  cinnamon- 

« Sixth  Annual  Report  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  p.  227,  fig.  331. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


309 


brown  spruce  root.  Also  the  restful  manner  in  which  this  work 
changes  the  slope  of  the  elements  in  the  weaving  should  not  be  over 
looked.  The  twined  weaving  is  made  up  of  a  series  of  little  mosaic 
elements  lying  down 'one  upon  another  like  a  row  of  bricks  that  have 


FIG.  103. 

BEADING  ON  COILED  WORK. 

Clallam  Indians,  Washington. 
Cat.  No.  23512,  U.S.N.M.    Collected  by  J.  G.  Swan. 

fallen.  The  incline  of  the  stitches  in  false  embroidery  is  in  the  oppo 
site  direction.  In  Plate  67  charming  effects  are  produced  by  alternat 
ing  the  plain  weaving  and  the  embroidery.  (Emmons.) 

The  twined  false  embroidery  might  be  classed  technically  with  three 
strand  twined  weaving.  (See 
tigs.  29,  31,  and  104.)  The 
warp  is  in  normal  position. 
The  weaver  selects  three 
strands  for  weft,  two  of 
spruce  root  and  one  of 
brightly  colored  grass.  They 
all  have  their  places  in  the 
weaving,  but  the  third,  or 
decorative  element,  instead 
of  taking  its  turn  to  pass 
behind  the  warp,  remains 
on  the  outside  and  makes 
a  wrap  about  the  strand  that 

OVERLAID  TWINED  WEAVING. 

happens  to  be  there.      The 

wrapping  may  pass,  also,  over  two  by  skipping  every  alternate  twist  of 
the  warp.  The  Thompson  Indians  vary  the  mode  of  wrapping  by  pass 
ing  a  strip  of  corn  husk  or  other  soft  material  entirely  around  the 
twining  each  time,  showing  the  %ure  on  the  inside. 


310  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

(e)  Imbrication. — This  term,  derived  from  the  Latin  imbrex,  a  tile, 
is  applied  to  a  style  of  decoration  used  in  Washington  and  British 
Columbia  by  the  Klikitat  and  many  of  the  Salish  tribes,  and  most 
closely  allied  in  technic  with  the  feather  Avork  on  basketiy  farther 
south.     Leaves  of  Xerophyllum  tenax,  strips  of  wild  cherry  bark  or 
of  the  inner  bark  of  the  cedar,  in  natural  color  or  dyed  black,  are  laid 
over  the  sewing  of  the  coiled  work.    The  juice  of  the  Oregon  grape  is 
used  to  produce  a  bright  yellpw  dye.     The  separate  elements  of  the 
imbrication  are  squares  or  rectangles,  varying  in  size  with  the  fineness 
of  the  workmanship.     But  the  mosaic   effect  is  most  striking,  and 
designs  of  intricate  character  are  successfully  expressed  in  it.     The 
Salish  tribes  about  the  Fraser  mouth  have  learned  to  widen  the  coils 
by  using  thin  strips  of  wood,  often  half  an  inch  wide,  as  foundation  of 
the  coil.     This  increases  the  size  of  the  imbrications  and  of  the  pat 
terns.     (See  page  254  and  Plate  68,  also  Plates  11,  43,  15,  and  55.) 

Ornamentation  in  Thompson  River  basketry  is  produced  by  imbrica 
tion  and  by  beading  (for  detail  drawing  see  figs.  52  and  53  and  -Plate 
102).  Imbrication  is  done  by  bringing  the  piece  of  grass  over  the 
outside  of  the  last  stitch  and  forward,  then  doubling  it  back  and 
catching  the  double  end  with  the  next  stitch.  The  outsides  of  Klikitat, 
Cowlitz,  and  Thompson  baskets  are  completely  covered  in  this  manner, 
so  that  the  whipped  cedar  splints  can  only  be  seen  from  the  inside. 
Lillooet  baskets  have  the  lower  part  of  the  body  plain,  while  the 
Chilcotin  baskets  have  a  separate  band  in  the  middle  of  the  body. 
The  grass  used  is  that  called  Nho'itlexin.  It  is  long,  very  smooth, 
and  of  a  glossy  yellow-white  color  (Xeroiikyllum  tenax).  To  make  it 
whiter  diatomaceous  earth  is  sometimes  spread  over  it  and  it  is  then 
beaten  with  a  flat  stick  on  a  mat  or  skin.  The  grass  is  seldom  dyed,  as 
the  colors  are  said  to  fade  soon.  (Teit.) 

(f)  Feather-work,  beads,  ^G-.— The  California  baskets  adorned  with 
feathers  are  called  jewels.     They  no  longer  serve  vulgar  uses.     The 
beautiful  productions  covered  with   styles  of  ornamentation  before 
described  have  often  the  marks  of  fire,  the  stain  of  berries,  the  smell 
of  fish  about  them,  proclaiming  that  they  were  not  above  combining 
the  beautiful  with  the  useful.     The  feather   baskets  sacrifice  use  to 
beauty. 

The  tribes  of  eastern  America  have  not  employed  feathers  in  basket 
work  in  recent  times.  The  nearest  approach  to  it  is  the  porcupine- 
quill  work  of  the  Indians  in  Canada  and  the  United  States.  The  quills 
are  dyed  and  set  on  the  surface  of  birch  baskets  by  thrusting  the  sharp 
ends  into  the  bark.  The  old  historians  tell  of  gorgeous  feather  robes 
made  doubtless  in  the  Indian  fashion  of  twined  weaving,  which  is  akin 
to  basketry.  The  Eskimo,  Aleut,  Haida,  and  Tlinkit  do  not  ornament 
baskets  with  feathers,  but  they  do  apply  in  dainty  fashion  to  some  of 
them  worsted,  hair,  and  furs.  Neither  do  the  tribes  of  the  Fraser- 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  311 

Columbia  area.  It  is  the  California  tribes  chiefly  that  have  developed 
the  art,  of  which  they  practice  two  styles.  In  the  one  tiny  bits  of  col 
ored  feather  are  sewed  by  their  shafts  to  coiled  basketry  just  to  give 
a  hazy  effect  to  the  surface.  Plate  70  is  an  excellent  example  of  this. 
It  will  be  observed  that  the  elaborate  pattern  in  black  is  not  obscured 
in  the  least  by  the  feather.  In  the  other  process  the  feathers  are  laid 
one  upon  another  so  thickly  that  the  surface  of  the  basket  is  hidden. 
The  addition  of  so  much  extraneous  matter  thickens  the  foundation 
and  coarsens  the  work.  As  previously  remarked  the  best  examples  of 
coiled  sewing  are  not  to  be  found  in  the  feathered  baskets. 

Plate  69  is  a  colored  illustration  of  a  feathered  basket,  of  the  Porno 
Indians  from  Sonoma  County,  California,  in  the  collection  of  C.  P. 
Wilcomb.  It  is  examples  such  as  these  that  technically  are  called 
jewels.  The  foundation  is  a  three-rod  coil,  the  sewing  is  with  split 
sedge  root  (Carex  barbarde),  and  the  stems  of  the  feathers  are  caught 
under  the  stitches.  The  feathers  on  this  rare  specimen  are  as 
follows: 

Red — Woodpecker  (Melanerpes  formicivorus) . 

Green — Mallard  duck  (Anas  boschas). 

Orange — Oriole  (Icterus  l>ullockii}. 

Yellow — Meadow  lark  (Sturnella  neglecta). 

Black — Quail  (Lopkortyx  calif  or  nicus). 

White  wampum  (Kaya) — Disks  of  Saxidomus  nuttallii. 

Red  wampum  (po) — Disks  of  magnetite. 

Pendants  of  abalone,  Ualiotis  sp. 

Long  diameter — 9  inches. 

Colored  plate  kindly  furnished  by  C.  P.  Wilcomb. 

Plate  70  is  a  feathered  jewel  basket  of  the  Upper  Lakes,  who  are 
Porno  Indians,  in  Lake  County,  California.  The  stitches  are  of  the 
coiled  work  over  three  rods  and  interlocked  beneath.  The  yellow 
feathers  are  from  the  breast  of  Jushil,  the  meadow  lark  (jSturnella 
neglecta)',  the  red  ones  are  the  throat  and  scalp  feathers  of  Katatch, 
the  woodpecker  (Melanerpes  formicworus) ;  and  the  black  feathers  at 
the  top  are  from  the  crest  of  Chikaka,  the  quail  (Lophortyx  calif or- 
nicus).  In  recent  forms  pretty  feathers  of  the  peacock  and  other 
showy  birds  gotten  in  trade  are  used.  The  perforated  disks  are 
money  from  the  clam,  shell,  Kaya  (Saxidomus  nuttallii);  and  the 
iridescent  pendants  are  cut  from  Tern,  or  the  haliotis  shell,  which  is 
quite  abundant  on  the  Pacific  coast. 

The  following  list  of  plants  used  in  coloring  have  been  identified  by 
Frederick  V.  Coville,  Botanist  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture: 

Alnus  rhombifolia — White  alder. 

Amaranthus  palmeri — Amaranth. 

Berberis  nervosa — Oregon  grape. 

Carthamus  tinctorius — False  saffron. 


312  KEPOET    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

CoviUea  tridentata — Creosote  bush. 
Delpliin  iuin  scaposum — Larkspur. 
Dondia  suffrutescens — Sea  blite. 
jB/vernia  vulpina — Wolf  moss. 
Helian  thus  petiolar  is — Sunflower. 
Parosela  emoryi — Parosela. 
Quercus  lobata — California  white  oak. 
jRhus  diversiloba — Poison  oak. 
Sarrihucus  mexicana — Elder. 
Thelesperma  gracile — Thelesperma. 
Vaccinium  memhranaceum — Blueberry. 


V.  SYMBOLISM 

All  the  high  and  low 

Of  my  wild  life  in  these  wild  stems  I  snare; 
The  jagged  lightning  and  the  star  I  show; 
The  spider  and  the  trailing  snake  are  there. 

—ANNA  BALL. 

All  industry  leads  to  fine  art  and  all  savage  arts  begin  at  the  foot  of 
the  ladder  and  end  ' '  beyond  the  bourne  of  sunset."  In  this  apotheosis, 
basketry  is  the  rival  of  stone  working,  wood  carving,  skin  dressing, 
and  pottery.  The  merety  useful  basket  has  some  beauty,  but  the 
exalted  specimen  of  handiwork  is  the  acme  of  intelligent  discrimina 
tion  in  the  materials  as  well  as  of  hand  skill  and  taste,  and  leads  up  to 
the  choicest  textile  productions.  Its  maker  must  be  botanist,  colorist, 
weaver,  designer,  and  poet,  all  in  one.  But  could  the  windows  of  her 
mind  be  thrown  open  wide  there  would  be  seen,  in  addition  to  all  these, 
the  mystic  love  of  her  tribe  alive  and  active.  In  the  old  days  of 
unsophisticated  savagery,  no  doubt,  there  was  everywhere  in  America 
the  overseeing  and  guiding  presence  of  the  mythic  in  the  practical. 
Its  relics  are  still  to  be  found  on  fragments  of  pottery  especially,  and 
there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  it  reigned  in  other  departments  of 
activity.  The  old-time  basket  makers  were  under  its  spell  every 
where.  It  would  be  an  interesting  study,  but  it  can  not  be  pursued 
here,  to  find  out  how  far  the  various  peoples  of  Europe  in  settling 
down  upon  the  lands  of  the  savages  had  by  their  ethnic  traits  and 
beliefs  gradually  eliminated  or  modified  those  of  the  aborigines  in  the 
matter  of  symbolism. 

Besides  the  unmodified  artistic  motives  in  the  designs  on  basketry, 
there  still  survives  in  the  Pacific  coast  area  a  symbolism  more  or  less 
connected  with  Indian  cosmogony.  The  maker  is  a  sorcerer.  In 
such  tribes  as  the  Hopi  this  idealism  in  design  is  still  alive  and  active. 
Among  the  Algonkin  Indians  of  the  Atlantic  States  the  thought  seems 
to  have  escaped  entirely  from  the  design,  and  the  Indian  woman  mak 
ing  her  baskets  at  the  seaside  .  resort,  at  the  springs,  or  at  Niagara 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  313 

Falls  has  no  more  idea  of  putting  a  thought  into  the  colors  and  pat 
terns  which  she  weaves  than  though  such  a  thing  never  existed.  The 
designs  are  changed  to  suit  the  whims  of  the  buyers.  Idealism  is 
buried  in  commercialism.  Tracing  the  motive  around  the  Arctic 
region  there  still  is  found  no  pattern  in  basketry  until  southern  Alaska 
is  reached.  In  the  birch-bark  ware  of  middle  Alaska  and  Canada,  and 
in  the  rawhide-parileche  receptacles  of  the  Sioux  and  other  Plains 
tribes,  the  mythical  conception  is  reawakened.  The  Ojibwa  about 
the  Great  Lakes  preserve  all  sorts  of  ancient  patterns  in  porcu 
pine-quill  work  on  birch  bark,  while  the  Sioux,  the  Arapahos,  and 
Kiowas  paint  upon  their  parfleche  cases  the  totemic  symbolism  of 
their  tribes. a  It  is  well  to  keep  in  mind  these  other  symbolic  repre 
sentations  in  speaking  of  basketry,  since  they  raise  questions  of  origins 
and  relationships.  Boas  is  inclined  to  refer  the  designs  on  Salishan 
basketry  to  the  tribes  inland  across  the  Cascade  Mountains. 

The  Haida  Indians  of  Queen  Charlotte  Archipelago  make  wallets 
and  hats  of  spruce  root,  now  and  then  weaving  in  a  band  of  black,  but 
the  ware  is  extremely  plain.  Its  decoration  depends  upon  the  various 
types  of  weaving  employed  and  painted  symbols.  But  the  Tlinkits  on 
the  mainland  and  islands  of  southeastern  Alaska,  on  the  other  hand, 
cover  the  surface  of  their  baskets,  made  precisely  similar  to  those  of 
the  Haidas,  with  symbolism  connected  with  their  daily  life.  7.t  has 
been  thought  that  anciently  the  Tlinkits  made  baskets  like  the  Haida, 
without  colored  ornaments,  and  that  the  designs  on  the  baskets  have  no 
mythological  significance.  The  Chilcats,  however,  who  are  akin  to  the 
Tlinkits  and  live  on  the  mainland,  cover  the  surface  of  their  fringed 
robes  with  their  totemic  symbolism  in  most  subtle  fashion.  The  tech 
nical  process  on  these  blankets  is  precisely  the  same  as  that  on  the 
baskets,  only  the  blankets  are  made  in  soft  wool  while  the  baskets  are 
in  hard  material.  Coming  farther  southward  the  land  of  the  imbri 
cated  basket  is  reached.  The  sybolism  on  this  ware  has  been  worked 
out  by  Livingston  Farrand.6  Further  on  these  designs  will  be  taken 
up  with  greater  detail.  As  the  inscriptions  on  Assyrian  slabs  have 
preserved  the  thoughts  and  lore  of  Mesopotamia  and  the  hieroglyphics 
of  Egypt  held  secure  for  millenniums  the  story  of  the  oldest  of  empires, 
so  in  a  much  humbler  fashion  the  myths  and  stories  of  these  Indians 
have  been  in  the  olden  times  symbolized  on  their  basketry.  There  is 
no  Rosetta  stone  nor  alphabet  of  design  for  their  decipherment,  all 
the  more  diligent  must  the  present  seeker  be  to  save  the  evanescent 
records.  The  basket  is  frequently  made  for  no  other  end  than  to 
record  the  legend. 

. a  A.  L.  Kroeber,  The  Arapaho,  Bulletin  of  the  American  Museum   of  Natural 
History,  XVII,  1902,  pp.  1-150. 

&  Basketry  Designs  of  the  Salish  Indians,  Memoirs  of  the  American  Museum  of 
Natural  History,  II,  1900,  Pt.  5,  pp.  393-399. 


314  EEPOKT    OF   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,   1902. 

The  Salish  tribes  of  Washington  and  Oregon,  and  those  of  Califor 
nia,  Arizona,  and  New  Mexico,  all  place  some  kind  of  designs  on  their 
basketry.  Whether  it  has  a  S3rmbolical  significance  or  not  has  to  be 
determined  in  each  case  by  inquiry.  Looking  at  the  whole  lield  as 
revealed  in  collections  and  publications,  the  following  classes  of  objects 
and  phenomena  sought  to  be  represented  seem  to  be  complete: 

1.  Natural  phenomena,  such  as  lightning,  sunrise,  clouds,  and  sky. 

2.  Natural  features  of  objects,  such  as  mountains,  lakes,  shores,  and  rivers. 

3.  Plant  phenomena,  including  splints  of  the  plant  used  to  make  the  design. 

4.  Animals  and  parts  of  animals.     There  is  no  end  to  this  species  of  design,  from 
the  attempt  to  represent  the  entire  animal  alive  and  in  motion,  to  the  few  stitches 
which  stand  for  a  part  of  the  creature,  perhaps  a  wing,  a  fin,  an  eye,  or  a  tooth,  to 
show  what  the  animal  might  be. 

5.  Human  beings,  either  full  or  in  part. 

6.  Devices  used  by  the  Indians  in  their  occupations,  arrowheads  especially. 

7.  Ideas  connected  with  the  Indian  thought  and  life;  for  example,  such  as  the 
opening  in  a  Navaho  basket. 

8.  Mythical  personages  connected  with  sorcery  and  witchcraft. 

9.  Their  gods  and  heavenly  beings. 

In  thinking  of  symbolism  the  sign  or  form  on  the  basket  and  the 
thing  signified  must  be  kept  separate  in  the  mind.  The  sign  may  be 
at  the  beginning  pictorial  and  pass  down  through  changes  and  abbre 
viations  to  a  mere  outline  that  has  no  suggestion  in  it,  or  a  simple 
geometric  figure  common  in  the  technic  may  become  a  mythic  being, 
by  making  here  and  there  a  significant  addition  through  suggestion. 

When  it  is  remembered  that  the  Indian  represents  in  a  general  way 
the  childhood  of  the  race,  one  has  but  to  revert  to  that  period  of  life 
to  recall  how  a  spot  of  ink  or  a  meaningless  form  was  transformed 
into  a  picture  of  something  real  or  ideal.  A  fundamental  geometric 
figure  on  basketry  may  in  similar  fashion  by  the  add'tion  of  a  line  or 
two  become  almost  any  design,  the  visible  home  of  any  symbol. 

In  this  paper,  devoted  more  particularly  to  the  technical  side  of 
b;  sketry,  the  manner  of  realizing  the  symbol  is  still  important.  How 
ever,  it  is  not  so  much  sought  to  teach  that  a  certain  design  represents 
a  butterfly  as  to  see  how  the  woman  put  the  form  into  the  texture  of 
her  basket. 

The  sculptor,  the  painter,  the  carver,  and  the  potter  are  more  realistic 
than  the  basket  maker,  since  the  making  of  portraiture  and  pictures  are 
easily  within  their  reach.  Yet  nothing  is  more  common  among  them  all 
than  abbreviation  and  synecdoche.  Not  only  are  they  under  the  spell 
of  symbolism,  but  the  symbol  is  curtailed  to  the  lowest  terms.  A  fin 
stands  for  a  whale,  incisor  teeth  for  a  beaver,  the  beak  for  a  bird,  and 
often  the  image  is  completely  obliterated  in  the  symbol.  Now  the 
basket  maker  is  still  more  handicapped  by  her  technical  limitations 
and  driven  to  symbolism  if  she  did  not  largely  invent  it.  For  pic 
torial  effects  on  the  surface,  the  maker  is  hampered  by  the  limitations 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  315 

of  weaving  and  sewing.  It  will  be  found,  therefore,  that  her  tempta 
tions  are  to  pass  more  quickly  to  the  symbolic  stage  of  representa 
tion.  It  is  well  to  remember  also  that  just  as  on  the  baskets  themselves 
the  symbolism,  starting  with  pictures,  has  in  some  tribes  been  reduced 
to  its  lowest  terms,  so  in  the  basket  maker's  mouth  the  legends  have 
become  faded  into  concrete  words  and  then  into  meaningless  terms, 
yet  the  thought  is  there.  Of  a  certain  form  on  a  basket  plaque  the 
Hopi  woman  would  say  it  is  the  bird  that  carries  messages  to  the 
rain  god;  another  tribe  would  call  it  a  bird;  a  third  name  it  wings, 
arid  finally  it  becomes  an  empty  geometric  design.  Again,  the  student 
himself  passes  through  a  process  of  initiations  as  the  subject  is 
exploited. 

It  is  said  that  Pompey  declared,  when  he  had  drawn  aside  the  veil 
of  the  Holy  of  Holies,  at  Jerusalem,  "The  Jews  worship  nothing." 
With  some  such  feeling  the  collector  of  baskets  begins  his  quest.  The 
first  impression  is  that  no  set  patterns  were  in  the  maker's  mind.  She 
has  a  sense  of  the  beautiful  and  loves  to  give  her  fancy  free  rein. 
Indeed,  the  reticent  and  suspicious  basket  maker  helps  the  delusion. 
A  little  later  the  discovery  is  made  that  the  patterns  stand  for  things, 
but  still  for  general  notions.  It  is  only  after  long  familiarity  and  sys 
tematic  converse  with  old  basket  makers  that  the  veteran  collector 
learns  that  the  belief  that  these  patterns  stand  for  mountains,  lakes, 
rivers,  men  and  women,  deer  or  other  mammals,  flying  birds  or  bird 
tracks,  fishes,  insects,  flowers,  plants,  heavenly  bodies,  or  articles  of 
use  and  worship  merely  is  but  a  fraction  of  the  truth.  They  are  con 
crete,  standing  not  for  all  or  any,  but  for  one,  and  underneath  them  is 
charming  folklore.  Mrs.  Shackleford  tells  of  a  certain  intricate  pat 
tern  on  a  Washington  basket  that  it  represents  ripples,  but  on  patient 
'inquiiy  it  was  found  to  mean  the  subtle  movements  in  the  under  waters 
of  a  certain  lake  upon  a  special  occasion.  To  appreciate  symbolism 
fully  one  must  know  the  sign,  hear  the  story,  and  then  study  the 
skies,  the  landscape,  and  the  social  environment. 

To  attempt  to  discover  an  alphabet  in  this  primitive  art  would  be 
useless,  for  each  tribe  adapts  old  and  new  standard  forms  to  its  own 
concept  myths.  The  artists  alone,  in  every  case,  can  interpret  them. 
This  existence  of  concrete  stories  in  art  form  is  not  confined  to  bas 
ketry.  Dr.  Boas  is  authority  for  saying  that  the  intricate  totem  post 
and  composite  painting  of  the  North  Pacific  coast  can  be  interpreted 
only  by  the  carver.  The  attempt  to  find  a  clue  to  the  mystery  of 
their  composition  is  hopeless,  for  none  exists.  As  soon  as  the  perfec 
tion  of  monotony  or  uniformity  has  been  reached  in  the  technic  to 
form  the  basis  of  real  art,  there  ensues  a  variety  no  less  thorough  and 
diversified  in  the  ornamentation  for  symbolizing  the  same  idea.  The 
rule  in  the  Indian  woman's  mind  seems  to  be  reduced  to  a  formula  like 
this:  "The  minimum  of  variety  in  the  technic,  the  maximum  of  variety 


316  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

in  the  symbolic.''  Or,  in  other  phrase,  variet}T  of  symbolic  expression 
in  the  unity  of  the  real  art.  One  looks  carefully  at  a  set  of  drawings 

^  fe 

like  those  of  Emmons,  Farrand,  Fowkes,  or  Dixon,  and  turns  to  a 
familiar  collection  to  find  the  same  symbols.  They  are  not  there; 
or,  rather,  they  are  hiding-  there.  It  is  a  question  whether  there  be 
two  baskets  alike  in  design  among  any  tribe.  This  is  the  real  charm 
of  sayage  hand  work  as  compared  with  the  rather  dull  uniformity  of 
machine  products.  All  the  tribes  of  the  West  that  have  preserved 
their  symbolisms  have  at  the  same  time  made  the  most  of  their  liberty 
to  modify  the  original. 

The  subject  of.  symbolism  maybe  studied  from  several  points  of 
view,  the  technic,  the  elaborative  or  historic,  and  the  ethnic.  Begin 
ning  with  the  technic  as  the  easiest,  symbolism  is  wrought  in  checker, 
twill,  wicker,  twine,  and  coil.  Looking*  at  a  coarse  piece  of  matting 
made  up  of  monotonous  squares,  it  is  not  easy  to  see  how  the  story  of 
creation  or  tribal  preservation  could  be  wrought  into  them.  But  with 
finer  elements  and  the  introduction  of  color,  a  part  of  the  difficulty 
vanishes.  In  point  of  fact,  however,  there  is  little  evidence  that  sen 
timent  was  wrought  into  checker,  or  even  into  twilled  weaving.  There 
is  no  essential  difficulty  in  the  way.  Mosaic  in  stone  or  other  hard 
material  is  made  up  of  little  blocks,  chiefly  squares,  and  both  the 
twined  and  the  coiled  basketiy  surfaces  contain  innumerable  designs 
made  up  in  small  squares  in  black  or  other  color. 

Symbolism  may  be  studied  in  its  elaboration  or  historic  develop 
ment.  The  history  of  a  symbol  on  basketry  is  the  same  as  that  of  a 
design  on  pottery  or  a  painting  on  hide.  Perhaps,  since  the  technical 
demands  are  more  exacting,  the  progressive  appearance  of  the  ideal 
is  more  rapid  and  the  hiding  of  the  original  more  complete.  A 
moment's  thought  makes  it  clear  that  one  is  dealing  simply  with  a 
universal  law  of  mental  development.  The  basketry  of  any  one  tribe 
will  show  Avhat  is  meant.  On  a  single  Hopi  plaque  it  is  not  rare  to 
sec  side  by  side  the  complete  figure  of  a  bird  or  butterfly  with  out 
spread  wings  and  near  by  an  abbreviated  cross  which  means  the  same 
thing.  (Sec  Plate  47.) 

Another  specimen  constructed  by  the  same  hands  will  have  the  cross 
but  not  the  birds.  By  and  by  enough  examples  are  brought  into  com 
parison  to  show  the  process  of.  fading  out  through  which  the  realistic 
becomes  only  a  skeleton.  There  is  a  celebrated  Japanese  painting 
showing  seven  stages  in  the  life  of  a  beautiful  girl.  As  she  passes  into 
womanhood,  through  all  its  years,  behind  the  real  face  the  pretty  child 
is  seen,  and  even  the  skull  that  lies  among  the  flowers  shows  to  the 
beholder,  after  a  moment's  gaze,  the  lovely  girlish  face.  In  the  last 
relic  of  symbol  on  basketry  to  the  trained  eye  of  mythology  the  same 
transition  takes  place.  The  comparison  of  an  ordinary  lot  of  Califor 
nia  basketry,  their  zigzag  lines,  arrowheads,  mountains,  and  crossing 
paths,  with  such  treasures  as  are  in  the  Merriam  collection,  each  gath- 


ABORIGINAL    AMEEICAN    BASKETRY.  317 

ered  from  the  hand  of  the  maker,  together  with  the  song  of  the  soul 
whose  melody  is  written  there  also,  makes  plain  what  is  here  set  forth. 

Professor  Farrand  calls  attention  wisely  to  the  fact  that  in  the 
reduction  of  symbols  to  their  lowest  terms  very  dissimilar  forms  have 
converged  until  the  same  figure  does  duty  for  many  objects,  the 
technical  exigency  or  strain  predominating.  This  has  led  to  differ 
ences  of  opinion  among  native  connoisseurs  and  frequently  confusion 
to  the  ethnologist.  The  same  observation  would  be  true  in  working 
the  other  way.  It  is  only  in  most  recent  times  that  psychologists  have 
appreciated  the  power  of  suggestion  in  helping  one  to  determined  action. 

Recently  a  package  of  beautifully  marked  shells  were  sent  to  the 
National  Museum  as  the  probable  origin  of  designs  in  savage  art. 
Nothing  could  be  farther  from  the  truth.  Form  does  not  come  to  the 

<r> 

savage  artist's  mind  in  that  way.  Whether  the  symbol  arise  by  con 
traction  or  expansion,  the  artist  is  the  creator  of  new  forms,  working 
always  within  the  school  of  her  materials  and  tools. 

Wicker  basketry  in  its  worst  state  is  positively  ugly.  In  the  eastern 
part  of  North  America  no  attempt  is  made  to  put  a  legend  upon  it, 
but  in  New  Mexico  and  Arizona  it  is  found  in  two  forms  side  by  side, 
one  as  plain  as  undressed  stems  can  be  made  and  the  other  at  the  top 
most  point  of  pictorial  representation.  In  Oraibi,  the  most  western 
of  the  Hopi  (Moki)  towns,  are  made  the  pretty  little  wicker  plaques 
called  Katchinas.  The  finding  of  fragments  of  these  in  ancient  ruins 
by  Dr.  Fewkes  is  good  proof  that  they  have  long  been  made  by  the 
Hopi.  Farther  on,  the  designs  themselves  will  be  examined.  They 
are  mentioned  here  rather  to  show  that  where  there  is  a  will  with  the 
human  species,  of  whatever  color,  there  is  a  way.  Examples  of 
Katchinas  are  shown  in  Plates  85  and  93.  The  Hopi  wicker  plaques 
are  made  up  of  short  stems  of  Chrysothamnus  that  have  been  previously 
smoothed  and  dyed  in  as  many  colors  as  are  needed.  The  work  resem 
bles  closely  that  in  porcupine  quills.  Figures  do  not  show  effectively 
on  the  back,  for  the  reason  that  a  single  stem  often  passes  over  only 
one  warp  element.  Symbols  of  complex  pattern  are  also  frequently 
finished  out  with  the  brush.  In  many  of  the  intricate  symbols  on  the 
Katchinas  the  narrow  limitations  of  the  material  and  the  curve  of 
texture  that  can  go  in  one  direction  only  put  the  artist  to  her  wits' 
end  for  conventionalisms.  She  does  not  mind,  but  goes  ahead.  True, 
a  rainbow  must  be  upside  down,  the  sky  goddess  must  have  rectangular 
eyes  and  mouth.  There  is  no  perspective,  the  round  must  be  flat,  and 
even  those  features  that  are  out  of  sight  must  be  brought  to  view. 
Never  mind,  the  ideal  wins  and  the  plaque  is  finished. 

With  twined  work  the  case  is  different.  All  its  varieties  are  capa 
ble  in  themselves  of  expressing  ideas  even  in  one  color,  but  as  soon  as 
overlaying,  embroidery,  and  the  use  of  different  hues  are  added  there 
is  practically  no  end  to  the  possibilities.  In  this  connection  the  reader 
may  be  reminded  again  that  designs  must  not  be  confounded  with  sjm- 


318  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

bols.  The  former  are  apparent  and  constant  and  extremely  limited,  the 
latter  ideal  and  as  varied  as  an  Indian  woman's  fancy.  But  in  the  chapter 
on  ornamentation  it  was  seen  how  varied  in  different  hands  and  mate 
rials  twined  patterns  might  be  made.  Twined  ware  is,  if  am- thing,  at 
the  start  the  coarsest  of  all,  for  what  could  be  ruder  than  the  wattling 
of  a  fish  weir  or  the  wall  of  a  granary  i  Taking  the  geographic  areas 
in  turn,  it  is  not  until  southeastern  Alaska  is  reached  that  an  attempt 
to  tell  a  story  in  twined  decoration  occurs.  Even  there  the  symbol 
exists  more  in  the  false  embroidery  on  the  surface  than  in  the  twined 
work.  In  point  of  fact,  however,  whether  studied  with  Emmons  for 
southeastern  Alaska;  with  Farrand  on  Salish  ware;  or  with  Dixon  in 
northern  California  tribes,  it  is  not  in  twined  work  that  the  most 
exalted  and  idealized  symbolism  has  been  wrought. 

Coiled  ware  also  has  such  a  variety  of  technical  treatment,  with  the 
whole  color  scheme  of  nature  to  select  from,  that  in  practice  there  is 
no  limit  to  the  form  and  combination  of  designs  or  of  symbolism.  In 
these  the  weaver  secretes  her  thoughts.  You  must  ask  her  what  they 
mean.  Rarely  is  one  of  her  symbols  widespread.  In  the  next  tribe  the 
sign  will  stand  for  quite  something  else.  It  is  well  to  observe  here  that 
a  vast  deal  of  coiled  basketry  has  no  symbol  or  design  on  it  whatever. 

Ethnic  symbolism. — Recurring  to  the  six  ethnic  areas  which  for 
convenience  have  been  adopted  in  this  publication,  basket ry  has  lost  all 
trace  of  symbolism  among  the  Indians  of  eastern  North  America.  It 
can  not  be  for  a  moment  supposed  that  they  have  none,  for  with 
Algonquian,  Siouan,  Kiowan,  the  substitutes  for  basketry,  rawhide 
receptacles,  as  well  as  moccasins,  cradles,  and  objects  in  three  dimen 
sions,  are  covered  with  idealism  in  painting  and  embroidery. 

To  understand  the  richness  of  this  survival  of  aboriginal  symbolism 
the  student  will  receive  his  principal  aid  at  hand  in  the  researches  of 
A.  L.  Kroeber  among  the  Arapaho."  Four  hundred  and  fift}7-eight 
distinct  symbols  are  given  in  figures  covering  Indian  ideas  from  com 
mon  objects  to  spiritual  beings.  All  the  closing  pages  of  the  above- 
named  paper  (pp.  138-150)  must  be  examined  carefully  in  order  to 
comprehend  both  the  sign  and  the  thing  signified,  the  thought  and  the 
overthought,  the  text  and  the  symbolic  context  in  Arapaho  embroid 
eries,  paintings,  and  three  dimension  designs.  The  closing  paragraph 
will  give  the  gist  of  Dr.  Kroeber's  study : 

The  closeness  of  connection  between  this  Arapaho  decorative  symbolism  and  the 
religious  life  of  the  Indians  can  not  well  be  overestimated  by  a  white  man.  Apart 
from  the  existence  of  a  great  amount  of  decorative  symbolism  on  ceremonial  objects 
not  described  in  this  chapter,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  making  of  what 
have  been  called  tribal  ornaments  is  regularly  accompanied  by  religious  ceremonies; 

a  Symbolism  of  the  Arapaho  Indians  (Bulletin  of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural 
History,  XIII,  1900,  pp.  69-86);  Decorative  Symbolism  of  the  Arapaho  (American 
Anthropologist  N.  S.,  Ill,  1901,  pp.  308-336);  The' Arapaho  (Bulletin  of  the  Ameri 
can  Museum  of  Natural  History,  XVIII,  1902,  pp.  1-150). 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  319 

that  some  styles  of  patterns  found  on  tent  ornaments  and  parfleches  are  very  old  and 
sacred,  because  originating  from  mythic  beings;  that  a  considerable  number  of 
objects  are  decorated  according  to  dreams  and  visions;  and,  finally,  that  all  symbol 
ism,  even  when  decorative  and  unconnected  with  any  ceremony,  tends  to  be  to  the 
Indian  a  matter  of  a  serious  and  religious  nature. 

The  Eskimo  also  and  the  Aleuts  perpetuate  no  thought  or  myth  in 
basketry  symbols.  The  etchings  of  the  former  on  ivory  are  also  mod 
ern  and  were  learned  from  outside  teachers.  It  is  not  in  these  that 
the  idea  is  to  be  sought.  Not  for  a  moment  is  it  to  be  thought,  how 
ever,  that  there  is  no  symbolism  existing.  All  the  life  is  wrapped  up 
in  hunting.  The  long,  dark  winter,  the  return  of  the  sun  with  the 
innumerable  retinue  of  life  in  the  air  and  in  the  Avaters  gives  the  key 
note.  It  is  in  the  drama  of  hunting  and  the  masks  worn  in  dances  that 
symbolism  is  embodied. 

On  the  Pacific  coast  from  Alaska  to  the  peninsula  of  California  and 
in  the  Interior  Basin  the  tribes  have  been  left  to  their  own  devices 
through  the  centuries,  and  it  is  here  that  survivals  of  symbolism  are  to 
be  sought.  They  will  be  found  in  one  place  full  of  life  and  ancient 
spirituality;  in  another  stung  by  civilization,  they  are  as  torpid  as  the 
spiders  that  are  placed  in  their  nests  by  the  mud  wasps. 

The  name  Tlinkit  applies  to  a  number  of  basket-making  tribes  in 
southeastern  Alaska.  In  their  charming  archipelago  they  have  devel 
oped  a  unique  scheme  of  symbolism  growing  out  of  their  mode  of  life. 
This  has  been  thoroughly  studied  by  Lieut.  G.  T.  Emmons,  U.  S. 
Navy,  in  his  collections  in  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History, 
New  York,  and  the  identifications  here  made  are  on  his  authority. a 
They  cover  a  wide  range  of  meanings.  Supplementaiy  to  this  basket 
symbolism,  or  rather  preeminent  over  it,  are  the  Chilkat  blankets  and 
the  endless  variet}'  of  carvings  in  stone,  horn,  and  wood,  and  the  sym 
bolic  paintings  on  all  sorts  of  surfaces.  The  following  identifications 
are  from  specimens  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum: 

Ars  suck  har  ha  yar  ku,  "Spirit  voice,  or  shadow  of  a  tree." 

Kah  thluckt  yar,  "  Water  drops." 

Kisht,  "  The  crossing." 

Klake  da  kheet  see  tee,  "Single  tying  around." 

Klaok  shar  yar  kee  kee,  "  Head  of  the  salmon  berry  cut  in  half." 

Ku  Klate  ar  ku  wu,  "The  Arctic  tern's  tail." 

Kuk  thla  ku,  "  Flaking  of  the  flesh  of  fish." 

Shon  tche  kulth  kah  katch  ul  tee,  "Tattooing  on  the  back  of  the  hand  of  an 

old  person." 

Shuh  tuck  on  hu,  "Shark's  tooth." 
Shar  dar  yar  ar  kee,  "Work  on  Shaman's  hat." 
Thlul  k  yar  nee,  "The  leaves  of  the  fireweed." 
Ut  tu  wark  ee,  '  'An  eye. ' ' 
Ut  kheet  see  tee,  "Tying  around." 
Yehlh  ku  wu,  "Raven's  tail." 

a  Basketry  of  the  Tlingit  Indians,  Memoirs  of  the  American  Museum  Natural 
History,  III,  1903,  pp.  229-277. 


320  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    3902. 

Plate  71  shows  specimens  of  twined  wallets  made  of  spruce  roots, 
for  carrying  berries  and  other  articles  of  food  on  the  back.  The  left- 
hand  figure  in  this  plate  is  Catalogue  No.  20704  in  the  National 
Museum  and  was  collected  by  James  G.  Swan,  at  Sitka,  Alaska.  It 
is  an  excellent  specimen  of  twined  weaving,  with  what  is  here  called 
false  embroidery.  The  figures  on  the  surface,  determined  by  Lieuten 
ant  Emmons,  are  as  follows:  The  two  wide  bands  contain  the  following 
ornaments:  The  large  five-sided  figures  in  the  middle  are  the  "Shark's 
tooth;"  the  chevron  pattern  covering  the  shark's  tooth  means  the 
"Flaking  of  flesh  of  fish  into  narrow  strips;"  the  small  triangular  fig 
ures  are  the  "  Salmon  berry  cut  in  halves,"  but  in  this  arrangement 
also  called  "Water  drops;"  the  narrow  middle  band  is  rendered 
"  Single  tying  around;"  below  the  ornamental  band  the  cross-shaped 
figure  represents  the  "Raven's  tail." 

The  right-hand  figure  in  this  plate  is  also  a  berry  basket.  The  two 
wider  bands  have  the  same  design,  having  a  bar  in  the  middle  with  its 
ends  bifurcated,  known  by  the  Tlinkit  as  "  The  crossing."  The  trian 
gles  in  these  bands  stand  for  "  The  salmon  berry  cut  in  halves."  The 
middle  band  is  "Tying  around."  The  vertical  designs  at  the  bottom 
represent  "An  eye"  on  one  side,  and  on  the  other  side  "Shark's 
tooth."  The  five-sided  figure  with  a  reentrant  angle  stands  for  "The 
Arctic  tern's  tail."  Catalogue  No.  21560,  U.S.N.M.,  collected  by  J.  B. 
White, 

The  right-hand  figure  in  Plate  72,  Catalogue  No.  20704A  in  the 
National  Museum,  collected  by  J.  G.  Swan,  is  a  cylindrical  basket  in 
twined  weaving.  The  upper  part  of  the  body  of  this  basket  is  divided 
into  three  bands  worked  in  straw,  natural  color,  and  dyed  red  and 
brown.  The  symbols  in  the  upper  and  lower  band  are  (1)  the  "  Spirit 
voice,  or  the  shadow  of  a  tree,"  in  zigzag  lines;  (2)  vertical  rows  of 
rhombs,  which  indicate  the  eye;  the  middle  band,  made  up  of  sinuous 
lines  on  rectangular  figures  is  called  "T}Ting  around."  The  allusion 
may  be  either  to  the  fact  that  this  figure  constitutes  an  encircling 
band,  or  to  the  sinuous  pattern  itself.  On  the  lower  part  of  the  body 
the  fretted  pattern,  with  three  rectangles  inclosed  in  the  bents  like  the 
bars  on  an  epaulette,  stands  for  "The  tattooing  on  the  back  of  the  hand 
of  an  old  person." 

Plate  37  represents  two  small,  beautiful  baskets  with  rattles  in  the 
tops,  made  by  the  Tlinkit  Indians  of  southeastern  Alaska.  Both  of 
them  are  covered  over  the  entire  surface  with  false  embroidery  in 
three  colors.  The  small  patterns  on  the  baskets  portray  the  salmon 
berry  and  the  triangular  figures  stand  for  shark's  teeth.  These  are 
fine  old  specimens  collected  in  1875  by  Dr.  J.  B.  White,  U.  S.  Army. 
Catalogue  No.  21562. 

Plate  73.  The  bottom  figure  is  a  covered  basket  on  the  Tlinkit 
Indians,  Catalogue  No.  168282,  collected  by  Lieutenant  Emmons.  The 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  321 

warp  is  crossed,  and  the  weaving  is  in  twined  work  ornamented  with 
false  embroidery.  The  upper  band  and  the  one  across  the  middle 
of  the  body  represent  u  The  salmon  berry  cut  in  half,"  while  the  band 
of  the  shoulder  and  the  one  at  the  bottom  stand  for  "  The  leaves  of 
the  fire  weed." 

The  upper  covered  jar  on  the  same  plate  illustrates  the  combination 
of  false  embroidery  and  the  use  of  two  colors  in  the  material  out  of 
which  the  specimen  is  woven.  This  specimen  is  Catalogue  No.  9112 
U.S.N.M.,  and  was  collected  in  Alaska  by  Lieut.  F.  M.  King,  U.  S. 
Army. 

The  Haida  Indians  on  Queen  Charlotte  Islands  are  near  to  the  Tlin- 
kit  in  arts,  but  weave  no  symbols  into  their  basketry.  The}^  paint 
various  designs  on  their  ceremonial  hats  and  have  no  end  of  richest 
symbolism  on  their  canoes  and  carved  in  wood  and  slate.  They  also 
now  engrave  on  silver  and  keep  alive  the  poetry  of  their  ancient  art. 

The  following  story,  collected  for  Lieutenant  Emmons  by  a  friend, 
proves  that  the  basket  is  not  altogether  out  of  touch  with  their  world  of 
myth : 

Once  upon  a  time  there  were  two  Haida  Indian  orphan  girls  living 
on  Queen  Charlotte  Islands,  British  Columbia.  After  being  punished 
by  their  stepmother  for  eating  up  a  store  of  deer  tallow  they  resolved 
to  run  awa}^.  They  wandered  about  in  the  forest  a  long  time  and  were 
eventually  rescued  by  the  "seek  quan  ni"  (Black  Bear  tribe),  one  of 
whom  married  the  girls.  Years  afterwards  these  girls  determined  to 
visit  the  scenes  of  their  sad  childhood.  For  their  journey  back  from  the 
forest  to  places  of  human  habitations  their  good  totem  spirit  directed 
them  to  weave  two  baskets  apiece  large  enough  to  fit  over  the  end  of 
the  thumb.  These  they  were  directed  to  fill  with  crumbs  of  various 
kinds  of  cured  meats  and  deer  tallow.  As  in  the  miracle  of  the  five 
loaves  and  two  fishes  which  sufficed  for  a  multitude,  the  contents  of 
these  tiny  baskets  furnished  food  for  the  two  women  on  their  journey 
of  many  moons.  Arrived  at  the  entrance  of  their  father's  house  their 
baskets  suddenly  became  very  large,  so  large,  in  fact,  that  it  required 
the  strength  of  many  slaves  to  take  them  into  the  house.  The  women 
found  their  stepmother  still  alive.  They  offered  her  the  various  meats 
and  tallow  which  they  had  brought  from  their  forest  home.  More, 
and  yet  more  food  they  pressed  upon  her  until  the  unhappy  woman 
died  of  overeating. 

Professor  Farrand  selected  happily  the  most  versatile  of  all  the 
North  American  families  of  Indians  for  his  studies,  the  Salishan. 
Among  these  the  Lillooet  and  Thompson  baskets,  of  British  Columbia, 
supply  the  flat  and  round  types  of  imbricated  coiled  work,  and  the 
Quinaielt,  on  Puget  Sound,  the  overlaid  twined  weaving.  The  Klikitat 
ware  is  not  included,  but  a  comparison  of  its  symbols  with  the  Salish 
would  be  profitable.  The  line  of  development  in  symbolism  among 
NAT  MUS  1902 21 


322  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

the  Salish  tribes  has  been  from  the  pictorial  to  the  geometric.  Pro 
fessor  Farrand  finds  that  the  use  of  animal  designs  is  by  no  means 
predominant.  This  was  seen  to  be  true  on  the  Tlinkits  also,  while 
the  Chilcat  (Tlinkit)  blanket  shows  the  dissected  and  distorted  motives 
described  by  Boas.a 

The  list  of  symbols  on  the  baskets  of  the  lower  Thompson  Indians 
is  given  by  Mr.  James  Teit.  It  is  made  up  of: 

1.  Arrowhead  pattern  (tataza,  arrowhead). 

'2.  Root  pattern  (niula,  a  variety  <>f  root). 

3.  Butterfly  pattern  (nkikaxeni,  butterfly). 

4.  Star  pattern  (nkokucen,  star). 

5.  Packing  strap  pattern  (tsupin,  packing  strap). 
(>.  Zigzag  pattern  (skolotz,  crooked). 

7.  Box  pattern  (luka,  grave  box). 

8.  Eagle  pattern  (halau,  eagle). 

Each  of  these  words  is  compounded  with  the  suffix  "aist,"  pattern; 
but  the  lower  Thompson  also  have  symbols  for  snake  or  snakeskin, 
snake  or  snake  tracks,  rattlesnake  tail,  grouse  or  bird  tracks,  bear 
foot  or  bear  tracks,  bird  or  geese  flying,  ity,  beaver,  deer,  horse, 
man,  hand,  tooth,  leaf,  shells  (dentalia),  stone  hammer,  comb,  neck 
lace,  net,  root-digger  handle,  leggings,  canoe,  trail,  stream,  lake, 
mount,  air,  lightning,  and  the  same  is  true  of  other  Salishan  tribes. 

Plates  74  to  TU,  reproduce  Professor  Farrand's  figures  and  the 
descriptions  are  from  his  monograph.6  These  illustrations,  being  most 
of  them  in  a  difficult  technical  process  called  imbrication  furnish  excel 
lent  studies  in  mosaic  p'.ctographs.  The  elements  are  all  little  squares 
in  different  colors,  varying  from  one-eighth  to  one-quarter  inch  in 
dimensions.  Much  charity  is  needed  in  detecting  the  thing  in  the 
symbol.  The  shark's  mouth  with  its  horrid  teeth,  is  rather  intensified 
by  the  angularity  of  the  design,  but  most  of  the  things  represented 
are  hidden  in  the  S3Tmbol. 

Plate  74,  fig.  1,  shows  a  coiled  and  imbricated  borry  basket  of  the 
Lillooet  Indians,  British  Columbia.  It  has  a  pyramidal  form,  flat 
foundation  in  the  coils,  and  the  decoration  is  in  two  segments  or  bands. 
The  designs  are  flies,  arrowheads,  and  half  circles  (2).  The  lower 
stripes  are  clusters  of  flies.  Height,  10^  inches;  1  inch  =  7i  stitches, 
4i  coils.  Compare  Cat.  No.  213535  U.S.X.M. 

Plate  74,  fig.  2,  shows  a  twined  and  overlaid  basket  of  the  Quinaielt 
Indians,  Washington.  Its  design  represents  flounders.  Height,  5£ 
inches;  1  inch  =  8  twists,  12  rows  of  weaving. 

Plate  74,  fig.  3,  shows  a  coiled  and  imbricated  basket  of  the  Lillooet 
Indians,  British  Columbia,  with  structural  elements  the  same  as  in 


«  The  Decorative  Art  of  the  Indians  of  the  North  Pacific  coast,  Bulletin  of  the 
American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  IX,  1897,  pp.  123-176. 

^  Basketry  Designs  of  the  Salish  Indians,  Memoirs  of  the  American  Museum  of 
Natural  History,  II,  1900,  pp.  393-399. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  323 

figure  1.  Its  design  is  a  head,  with  mouth,  teeth,  and  hair  along  the 
back  of  the  head.  The  stripes  below  are  arrowheads.  Height,  11 
inches;  1  inch=7i  stiches,  4  coils. 

Plate  74,  fig.  4,  represents  the  end  of  Plate  75,  fig.  6,  Lillooet.  The 
design  is  said  to  typify  flies.  Compare  example  216422  U.S.N.M. 

Plate  74,  fig.  5,  shows  a  coiled  and  imbricated  basket  of  the  Lillooet 
Indians,  British  Columbia.  The  two  segments  are  preserved  in  the 
design  as  in  figures  1  and  3.  The  structural  features  are  also  the 
same.  The  design  is  a  head,  with  open  mouth,  below  are  arrow  heads. 
Compare  fig.  3. 

Plate  74,  fig.  6,  represents  a  coiled  and  imbricated  basket  of  the 
Lower  Thompson  Indians,  British  Columbia.  Special  attention  is 
called  to  the  ridged  surface  caused  by  a  bundle  of  splints.  On  this 
plate  are  shown  the  two  radically  different  methods  of  laying  the 
foundation  for  the  coil.  The  two  narrow  black  and  white  stripes  on 
the  upper  portion  are  made  by  beading,  and  represent  earth  lines. 
The  lower  figures  are  grouse  tracks.  Height,  6  inches;  1  inch=6i 
stiches,  5  coils. 

Plate  75,  fig.  1,  represents  a  coiled  and  imbricated  cooking  basket 
of  the  Lower  Thompson  Indians,  British  Columbia,  with  a  design  of 
flying  geese.  The  foundation  of  the  coil  is  of  splints;  the  distinctive 
characteristic  is  that  the  ornamentation  covers  the  whole  surface  and 
is  not  divided  into  bands.  Height,  9  inches;  1  inch=6i  stitches,  4£ 
coils. 

Plate  75,  fig.  2,  shows  a  coiled  and  imbricated  covered  basket  or 
trunk  of  the  Lower  Thompson  Indians,  British  Columbia,  while  the 
design  is  of  a  rattlesnake's  rattle.  Height,  5  inches;  1  inch  =  6  stitches, 
3i  coils. 

Plate  75,  fig.  3,  represents  a  wrapped  twined  bag  of  the  Yakima 
(Shahaptian  family)  Indians,  Washington.  The  National  Museum  has 
many  bags  from  Shahaptian  tribes  showing  Farrand's  symbols.  The 
design  is  of  flying  birds.  Height,  22  inches;  1  inch  =  7  stitches,  9  rows. 

Plate  75,  fig.  4,  shows  a  coiled  and  imbricated  basket  of  the  Lower 
Thompson  Indians,  British  Columbia.  Its  design  is  a  snake  trail  or 
track.  Height,  9£  inches;  1  inch=6i  stitches,  3£  coils. 

Plate  75,  fig.  5,  shows  a  coiled  and  imbricated  basket  of  the  Lower 
Thompson  Indians,  British  Columbia.  The  design  indicates  a  snake 
trail.  In  technical  elements  this  example  is  Thompson,  but  the  cren 
elated  form  of  design  is  widespread  and  has  many  interpretations. 
Compare  Plate  74,  fig.  1;  also  Merriam's  butterfly  design,  page  332. 
Height,  13  inches;  1  inch  =  6i  stitches,  3i  coils. 

Plate  75,  fig.  6,  represents  a  coiled  and  imbricated  basket  of  the 
Lillooet  Indians,  British  Columbia.  The  shape  and  flat  foundation 
are  Lillooet,  but  the  solid  design  over  the  whole  surface  is  not  so. 
The  design  shows  flies,  snake  tracks,  and  arrowheads  (side  view). 
Height,  10i  inches;  1  inch=5£  stitches,  2  coils. 


324  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

Plate  75,  fig.  7,  is  a  coiled  and  imbricated  globular  basket  of  the 
Lower  Thompson  Indians,  British  Columbia.  The  design  represents 
a  snake  coiled  around  the  basket  and  exists  on  baskets  in  other 
Salishan  tribes.  The  vertical  line  interrupting  the  coils  shows  the 
limitation  of  this  style  of  weaving,  made  up  of  a  continuous  spiral  and 
not  of  a  series  of  rings.  Height,  7i  inches;  1  inch  =  8  stitches,  4i  coils. 

Plate  75,  fig.  8,  is  a  coiled  and  imbricated  basket  of  the  Lower 
Thompson  Indians,  British  Columbia.  This  beautiful  example  is  true 
to  t}Tpe  in  all  except  the  angular  design.  The  designs  represent  but 
terflies'  wings.  Height,  U  inches;  1  inch=6  stitches,  3i  coils. 

Plate  76,  fig.  1,  is  a  coiled  and  imbricated  basket  of  the  Lillooet 
Indians,  British  Columbia,  the  upper  design  representing  intestines; 
the  vertical  stripes  in  the  lower  segment  are  flies.  Height,  11  inches; 
1  inch  =  7  stitches,  4  coiis. 

Plate  76,  fig.  2,  is  a  coiled  and  imbricated  basket  of  the  Lillooet 
Indians,  British  Columbia,  with  a  design  representing  a  net;  the  inter 
spaces  show  deer  shot  by  arrow,  deer,  man,  dogs,  flies.  The  flat  coil 
in  the  bottom,  the  absence  of  angles,  the  design  over  the  surface  are 
noteworthy  in  the  Lillooet.  Height,  13^  inches;  1  inch  =  6  stitches, 
3i  coils. 

Plate  76,  fig.  3,  is  a  coiled  and  imbricated  basket  of  the  Lillooet 
Indians,  British  Columbia,  with  a  design  representing  a  man  with 
feather  in  his  hair,  bow  and  two  arrows,  and  at  either  end  a  notched 
ladder  ( ?).  The  lower  segment  is  beaded.  Height,  8f  inches;  1  inch  =  8 
stitches,  5^  coils. 

Plate  76,  fig.  -i,  shows  a  typical  coiled  and  imbricated  basket  of  the 
Lower  Thompson  Indians,  British  Columbia.  The  design  is  a  plant 
with  fernlike  leaf,  end  view.  Height,  8-J-  inches;  l*inch=;7i  stitches, 
3i  coils. 

Plate  76,  fig.  5,  shows  a  coiled  and  imbricated  basket  of  the  Lillooet 
Indians,  British  Columbia,  having  a  design  representing  arrowheads 
and  flies.  In  technic  this  example  represents  the  older  forms. 
Height,  11  inches;  1  inch  =  7  stitches,  4  coils. 

Plate  77,  fig.  1,  shows  a  coiled  and  imbricated  basket  trunk  of  the 
Lillooet  Indians,  British  Columbia.  The  structure  and  form  are 
decidedly  Hudson  Bay  Company  in  motive.  The  design  represents 
arrowheads  of  different  shapes.  Height,  9  inches;  1  inch=5^  stitches, 
3^  coils. 

Plate  77,  fig.  2,  shows  a  bag  in  twined  weaving  with  wrapped  orna 
ment  of  the  Wasco  Indians  (Chinookan  family),  Washington,  Avith 
designs  representing  flying  birds,  men,  and  sturgeon.  Height,  8£ 
inches;  1  inch  =  8  twists,  12  rows. 

Plate  77,  fig.  3,  is  a  coiled  and  imbricated  basket  trunk  of  the  Lower 
Thompson  Indians,  British  Columbia;  design,  arrowheads.  This  speci 
men  shows  the  intrusion  of  Hudson  Bay  Company  forms  into  the 
upper  country.  Height,  6i  inches;  1  inch =7  stitches,  4  coils. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  325 

Plate  77,  fig.  4,  represents  a  coiled  and  imbricated  basket  of  the 
Lower  Thompson  Indians,  British  Columbia,  with  a  design  showing  a 
packing  strap  or  tump  line,  possibly  a  net.  This  is  a  good  type  in 
technic,  form,  and  decorations.  See  also  figs.  6,  7,  and  8.  Height, 
Hi  inches;  1  inch  =  6^  stitches,  4  coils. 

Plate  77,  fig.  5,  is  a  coiled  and  imbricated  packing  basket  of  the 
Lower  Thompson  Indians,  British  Columbia,  with  a  design  represent 
ing  grave  or  burial  boxes.  This  is  an  interesting  hybrid,  with 
Thompson  stitch  and  decoration  on  a  Coast  box,  having  even  the  added 
foot.  Height,  6f  inches;  1  inch  =  7  stitches,  4i  coils. 

Plate  77,  fig.  6,  is  a  coiled  and  imbricated  basket  of  the  Lower 
Thompson  Indians,  British  Columbia.  The  design  indicates  crossing 
trails,  possibly  stars.  Height,  14  inches;  1  inch=6i  stitches,  4  coils. 

Plate  77,  fig.  7,  is  a  coiled  and  imbricated  basket  of  the  Lower 
Thompson  Indians,  British  Columbia.  Legend,  stone  hammer,  side 
view.  Compare  example  217438  U.S.N.M. 

Plate  77,  fig.  8,  is  a  coiled  and  imbricated  basket  of  the  Lower 
Thompson  Indians,  British  Columbia.  Height,  9  inches;  1  inch  =  7i 
stitches,  3i  coils. 

Plate  77,  fig.  9,  shows  a  twined  and  overlaid  basket  of  the  Quinaielt 
Indians,  Washington,  with  a  design  representing  a  fish  net.  Height, 
7i  inches;  1  inch  =  5  twists,  8  rows  of  weaving. 

Plate  78,  fig.  1,  shows  a  twined  and  wrapped  wallet  of  the  Upper 
Thompson  Indians,  British  Columbia,  with  a  design  representing  lakes, 
lakes  connected  by  streams,  ducks  flying  toward  the  lakes,  and  animal 
footprints.  Figures  1-4  are  akin  to  the  Shahaptian  work  in  Washing 
ton,  with  the  exception  that  the  decorative  filaments  are  wrapped 
about  both  elements  of  the  twine.  Height,  21  inches;  1  inch =9  twists, 
13  rows  of  weaving. 

Plate  78,  fig.  2,  is  a  reverse  of  preceding,  having  a  design  of  arrow 
heads  and  crossing  trails. 

Plate  78,  fig.  3,  is  a  twined  and  wrapped  wallet  of  the  Upper  Thomp 
son  Indians  with  a  design  showing  three  rows  of  lodges.  Height,  23 
inches;  1  inch  =  5^  twists,  8  rows  of  weaving. 

Plate  78,  fig.  4,  is  the  reverse  of  No.  3,  and  has  a  design  showing 
household  utensils. 

Plate  78,  fig.  5,  is  a  twined  and  overlaid  wallet  of  the  Quinaielt 
Indians,  Washington,  having  a  design  representing  a  mountain  chain. 
Height,  8  inches;  1  inch =6  twists,  8  rows  of  weaving. 

Plate  78,  fig.  6,  shows  a  twined  and  overlaid  basket  of  the  Quinaielt 
Indians,  Washington.  Its  design  is  called  a  mountain  chain.  Height, 
10  inches;  1  inch  =  5  twists,  7i  rows  of  weaving. 

Plate  79,  fig.  1,  is  a  coiled  and  imbricated  basket  of  the  Lower 
Thompson  Indians,  British  Columbia.  The  design  is  said  to  rep 
resent  mountains  with  lakes  in  the  valleys.  Height,  14£  inches;  1 
inch=6i  stitches,  3i  coils. 


326  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

Plate  79,  tig.  2,  is  a  twined  and  overlaid  basket  of  the  Quinaielt 
Indians,  Washington,  with  a  design  representing  waves  or  ripples  on 
the  water.  Height,  10  inches;  1  inch  =  5i  twists,  9  rows. 

Plate  79,  tig.  3,  shows  a  twined  and  overlaid  basket  of  the  Quinaielt 
Indians,  Washington,  with  an  unknown  design.  It  is  widespread, 
however,  and  resembles  a  cluster  of  marsh  plants.  Resembles  motives 
in  northern  California.  Height,  (>i  inches;  1  inch  =  7  twists,  10  rows. 

Plate  79,  tig.  4,  is  a  coiled  and  imbricated  basket  of  the  Lillooet 
Indians,  Washington,  with  a  design  representing  lightning.  Compare 
Plate  75,  figs.  1  and  2,  where  it  stands  for  Hying  geese.  Height,  5 
inches;  1  inch  =  8  stitches,  3^  coils. 

Plate  79,  tig.  5,  is  a  coiled  and  imbricated  ware  of  the  Lillooet 
Indians,  British  Columbia.  The  design  is  said  to  )>e  of  meaning 
unknown  revealed  in  a  dream.  Height,  10  inches:  1  inch  — 5  stitches, 
3i  coils. 

Plate  79,  tig.  6,  is  a  coiled  and  imbricated  basket  of  the  Chilcotin 
Indians,  British  Columbia,  with  an  unexplained  design.  This  rare 
piece  is  noteworthy  for  having  three  or  four  bands  or  segments  of 
independent  designs.  It  shows  in  its  technic  little  influence  of  foreign 
culture.  Height,  8£  inches;  1  inch  =  6i  stitches,  7  coils. 

For  the  northern  California  and  southern  Oregon  tribes  the  guide 
to  the  study  of  symbolism  is  Roland  B.  Dixon."  who  divides  basketry 
into  three  types  (see  tig.  163.): 

I.  Northwestern  type  includes  the  area  occupied  by  the  Hupa  (Atha 
pascan),   Karok  (Quoratean),  Yurok   (Weitspekan).     The  technic  is 
twined  work  overlaid. 

II.  Northeastern  type  comprises  Modoc  and  Klamath  (Lutuamian), 
Shasta    (Sastean),    Pit   River   (Palaihaihan),   Yana   (Yanan),    Wintun 
(Copehan),  and  Maidu  (Pujunan).     The  technic  is  twined  and  coiled. 

III.  Panto  type. — This  versatile  people  of  the  Kulanapan  family  in 
its  technic  is  cosmopolitan,  using  both  twined  and  coiled  ware  in  every 
variety.     The  Yuki  and  the  Costanoan  are  left  unclassed. 

Three  groups  of  symbols  are  distinguished  by  Dixon—  animal  designs, 
plant  designs,  and  representations  of  natural  or  artificial  objects.  For 
the  Porno  symbols  he  relies  upon  Carl  Purdy,  collector  of  material 
from  that  people  in  the  American  Museum,  New  York.  For  the 
northeastern  group,  Dr.  Dixon  has  made  exhaustive  personal  observa 
tions  and  illustrated  the  symbols  in  Plates  i-xvi  of  his  monograph. 

The  following  story  applies  to  a  beautiful  piece  of  basket  work  from 
the  Yuki  Indians,  now  in  Round  Valley  Agency,  Covelo,  California. 
They  are  associated  with  the  Wailakis,  who  are  Athapascan,  but  the 
Yuki  themselves  form  a  separate  family.  Catalogue  No.  131108  in  the 
U.S.N.M.,  Plate  80,  is  called  a  sun  basket,  of  Yuki  manufacture, 

"Basketry  Designs  of  the  Indians  of  Northern  California,  Bulletin  of  the  American 
Museum  of  Natural  History,  XVII,  1902,  pp.  1-152.  ' 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  327 

collected  by  N.  J.  Purcell,  and  in  order  to  complete  its  history  it  is 
necessary  to  know  what  the  Yukis  believe  to  be  the  origin  of  the 
world.     "  In  the  beginning  there  was  no  land;  all  was  water.     Dark 
ness  prevailed  everywhere.     Over  this  chaos  of  dark  waters  hovered 
cOn-coye-to,'  who  appeared  in  the  form  of  a  beautiful  white  feather, 
hence  the  love  of  the  Yukis  for  feathers.     In  time  the  spirit  became 
weary  of  his  incessant  flight  through  the  murky  space  and  lighted 
down  upon  the  face  of  the  water.     Where  he  came  in  contact  with  the 
water  there  was  a  whirlpool  that  spun  his  body  round  and  round.     So 
rapid  became  the  motion  that  a  heavy  foam  gathered  about  him.     This 
became  more  dense  and  expanded  in  width  and  length.     It  gathered 
up  the  passing  bubbles  until  it  was  a  huge  floating  island.     On  the 
bosom  of  this  rested  the  snowy  form  of  On-co3Te-to.     As  he  lay  upon 
this  island  after  an  almost  endless  flight  through  the  dark  space,  the 
idea  of  a  permanent  resting  place  came  into  his  mind.     So  he  made 
the  land  and  divided  it  from  the  water.     From  the  form  of  a  feather 
he  assumes  that  of  a  man  and  rested  upon  the  land.     Still  there  was 
no  light,  and  the  spirit  was  troubled.     On-coy e -to  saw  far  off  in  the 
firmament  a  star,  po-ko-lil-ey,  and  resolved  to  visit  it  and  learn  how  it 
emitted  its  sparkling  light.     After  a  long  journey  he  arrived  and 
found  a  large  and  beautifully  lighted  world,  inhabited  by  a  numerous, 
hospitable  people.     Still,  he  saw  not  whence  came  the  light.     He  was 
allowed  free  access  to  all  the  habitations  save  one,  '  the  sweat  house.' 
This  was  guarded  night  and  day,  and  was  accessible  only  to  sick  per 
sons.     Finally  a  great  hunt  was  planned,  and  as  the  time  drew  near  all 
was  prepared  for  the  occasion.     But  On-coye-to  feigned  sickness,  that 
he  might  investigate  the  sweat  house.     When  the  morning  arrived  for 
the  hunt  he  was  too  ill  to  accompany  the  hunters.     A  council  was  held 
to  determine  whether  this  stranger  should  be  admitted  to  the  sweat 
house,  which  is  even  now  a  sacred  place  with  the  Yuki  tribe,  and  it 
was  decided  to  give  him  the  benefit  of  this  house  of  medicine,  religion, 
gambling,  and  many  other  practices.     A  few  old  men  were  left  to 
administer  to  his  wants  and  to  see  that  all  went  well.     As  he  entered 
the  sweat  house  he  was  almost  blinded  by  the  light  that  flashed  upon 
him.     As  he  became  accustomed  to  it  he  looked  around  him  and  dis 
covered  its  origin.     Hanging  high  over  his  head  in  several  baskets 
were  as  many  beautiful  suns.     Having  found  the  fountain  of  light  he 
waited  patiently  until  the  old  men  were  all  asleep,  then  climbed  cau 
tiously  to  what  seemed  the  brightest  of  the  suns,  took  down  the  basket 
which  held  it,  slipped  from  the  sweat  house  and  made  his  way  rapidly 
back  toward  his  own  world.     He  was  hotly  pursued  by  the  indignant 
warriors,  but  he  arrived  safely  after  many  adventures.     He  hung  the 
sun  in  its  basket  far  in  the  east,  then  surveyed  it.     It  did  not  light  up 
to  suit  him  and  he  moved  it  a  little  higher.     Still  it  did  not  suit  him, 
so  he  continued  to  move  it  on  and  on,  and  is  moving  it  to  the  present 


328  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

day."  Thus  the  Indian  accounts  for  the  moving  of  the  sun,  and  thinks 
not  that  the  earth  moves. 

The  basket  here  shown  is  believed  to  be  a  copy  of  the  same  in  which 
the  sun  was  stolen  from  the  other  world  and  brought  to  this.  On 
the  bottom  is  a  piece  of  polished  abalone  shell  cut  round  to  represent 
the  sun.  Below  this  is  suspended  a  new  moon,  then  a  fish,  and  all 
around  the  sides  hang  pieces  of  the  same  shell,  which  the  Yuki  say 
represents  the  stars.  (N.  J.  Purcell.) 

As  before  mentioned,  Dr.  Dixon  relies  on  Mr.  Purdy  for  the  sym 
bolism  on  the  Porno  basketry.  The  collection  was  made  in  1900,  and 
the  names  of  designs  given.  Since  that  time  more  information  has 
come  to  Mr.  Purdy,  and  some  of  the  terms  are  changed.  The  U.  S. 
National  Museum  has  the  collection  of  Dr.  J.  W.  Hudson  for  com 
parison,  made  some  years  earlier.  The  interpretations  of  the  symbols 
by  the  two  men  are  quite  as  interesting  a  study  in  the  psychology  of 
the  collectors  as  of  the  Indian  basket  women.  From  Dr.  Hudson's 
manuscript  accompanying  his  collection  the  following  notes  on  sym 
bolism  are  taken.  The  underlying  thought  in  his  mind  is  that  each 
separate  social  group  of  the  Porno  has  peculiar  types  of  basketry 
known  by  the  keynote  in  the  ornamentation,  which  is  the  totem  of 
that  group. 

Both  in  painting  and  in  feather  decoration  the  following  colors  have 
a  significance  with  the  Porno: 

Red:  bravery;  pride.     (Personified  by  the  woodpecker. ) 

Yellow:  amatory;  success;  gaiety;  fidelity.     (Lark.) 

Blue:  demoniac  cunning;  perfidy.     (Jay.) 

Green:  astuteness;  discretion;  watchfulness.     (Duck.) 

Black:  conjugal  love;  beauty.     (Quail.) 

White:  riches;  generosity.     (Wampum.) 

The  following  interpretations  of  signs  were  given  by  Dr.  Hudson 
in  connection  with  his  collection  of  basketiy  secured  by  the  U.  S. 
National  Museum: 

Baiyakan  (Baiyak,  net  mesh).  Same  as  Mr.  Purdy' s.  The  design  is  an  alterna 
tion  of  dark  and  light  squares  between  two  boundary  lines. 

Bisliekamak,  deer's  hoofs  or  trail  made  by  those  animals  in  the  mud.  Very  rare 
pattern,  once  common  to  the  Taco  ( Yukiari)  of  Potter  Valley.  Consists  of  two  right- 
angled  triangles  joining  so  as  to  represent  the  track  of  a  deer's  hoof. 

JBishemao,  deer's  loins,  the  mottles  on  the  buck's  rump  when  struggling  out  of  the 
slime  of  Clear  Lake  at  the  creation.  Parallel  lines  with  the  inclosed  space  filled 
with  dark  and  light  parallelograms. 

JJisheo,  deer's  teeth,  seen  by  the  primal  Indians  when  that  animal  called  to  them 
for  help  as  he  struggled  in  the  mud.  A  row  of  little  squares  with  open  spaces 
between. 

Danokakea,  Mountain  AVaters  tribe,  totem  of  a  tribe  once  living  6  miles  north  of 
Upper  Lake,  in  the  mountains  at  the  headwaters  of  McClure  Creek,  and  a  close  affin 
ity  and  neighbor  of  the  Porno  of  Potter  Valley.  A  band  of  equilateral  triangles  in 
two  colors  alternating. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  329 

Ka  wi  na  ote,  or  Ka  wi  na  mi  yak,  turtle  neck.  A  charm  of  halved  turtle  backs 
strung  one  above  the  other,  indicated  by  three  equilateral  triangles,  one  resting  on 
another. 

Katsha,  arrowheads  often  represented  on  the  basket  as  strung  together  and  worn 
as  necklaces. 

Kntshak,  arrowhead.  A  row  of  equilateral  triangles  bounded  by  two  lines  and 
touching  by  their  bases,  or  having  the  apex  of  each  one  touching  the  middle  of  the 
base  of  the  other. 

Kawinateedi,  turtle  backs  which  were  seen  floating  on  the  waves  of  Clear  Lake. 
A  series  of  rhombs  adjoining  one  another. 

Kea,  quail  plume.  Totem  of  the  confederated  tribes  of  Lake  County,  California, 
especially  those  living  in  the  valleys  around  Clear  Lake.  This  excludes  the  Napo, 
Kabe  napo,  rock  village;  and  Kura  napo,  water-lily  village,  who  had  no  recognized 
totems.  The  Yokaia  also  claimed  the  Kea  totem,  being  close  kin  to  Lake  tribes, 
though  living  across  the  range.  L-shape  and  Z-shape  designs  in  color.  Most  common 
of  Porno  symbols. 

Misakalak,  blacksnake,  a  totem  recognized  as  belonging  to  the  Shokowa  of  Scho- 
kowa  valley,  around  Hopeland.  Represents  a  snake  trail.  Two  parallel  lines  near 
together  with  a  sinuous  pattern  between. 

Na  wa  kai,  a  totem  consisting  of  a  series  of  ponds  connected  by  a  slough,  and  this 
tribe  is  totally  extinct,  yet  the  pattern  is  often  seen  in  the  Yokaia  village  and  called 
Baketch,  or  man's  spit.  This  is  a  row  of  squares  made  up  of  dots. 

Poma,  red  earth.  Named  from  the  mound  of  siliceous  earth  in  Potter  Valley, 
whence  all  Pomos  sprung,  and  from  which,  to  this  day,  their  ceremonial  yeast  or 
sacrament  is  dug  to  be  mixed  with  their  bread  and  eaten.  The  totem  of  a  Potter 
Valley  tribe.  Porno  =  red  (stone)  mine  or  quarry,  where  argillite  or  magnetite  is 
mined  for  wampum.  A  row  of  triangles  in  red  splints. 

Shakobiya,  grasshopper  elbows,  or  the  spines  on  the  tarsi.  Trail  noted  in  mud. 
It  consists  of  a  line  of  right-angled  triangles  joined  at  their  bases. 

Shakokamak,  grasshopper  tracks  made  in  the  mud  at  creation.  Parallel  rows  of 
dots  in  fours. 

Tsi  yo  tsi  yo,  up  and  down,  the  word  Ka  being  understood.  "Waves"  rolling 
back  from  the  shores  of  Clear  Lake,  releasing  the  new-born  creatures.  Three  zigzag 
lines  parallel  and  oblique.  Certain  Lake  County  Porno  tribes  use  the  term  tsi  yo  tsi 
yo,  signifying  waves,  or  the  marriage  of  the  east  wind  to  the  waters  of  Clear  Lake, 
representing  it  by  a  series  of  dotted  parallelograms  in  stepped  pattern. 

Carl  Purdy's  vocabulary  of  Porno  symbols  on  basketry  is  as  follows: 

Baiyokan  (Baiyak,  net),  band  of  rectangles,  called  meshes;  also,  snake. 

Bishe  mao,  or  mia,  backbone  or  ribs  of  a  deer.     Rectangles  or  rhombs  en  Echelon. 

Butterfly  pattern,  Long  Valley  Indian  (Copehan). 

Chi  kakh,  quail. 

.Dalan,  halved.      (Yokaia,  dilan.) 

Dan,  opening.     (Compare  the  path  in  Navaho  baskets.) 

Itchi  cu  we;  len  we  is  naked,  or  bare  and  naked;  itci  tcu  we,  bare  of  design — i.  e. 
not  ornamented. 

Kapok poko,  short  design,  rhomb  or  rectangle  in  the  middle. 

Ka  tio  tio,  waves  (Ka,  water,  and  tio  tio,  rippling);  or  Kahio,  or  Kalio  (?). 

Kattakama,  crow  foot  (kai,  crow,  and  akama,  foot). 

Kalcha  misit,  arrowr  points.     (Yokaia.) 

Kalen  le  Ian,  white  mark  in  the  middle. 

Katcha,  arrowhead. 

Katcha,  arrow;  Katcha  da  Ian,  arrow  halved;  Katchi  mi  set  (or  misit),  arrow 
points. 


330  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

Kawina  ritcha,  turtle  neck. 

Keya,  quail  tip. 

Keya,  tip  or  top. 

Lelan  (lilan)  in  the  middle. 

Mato,  large;  Kak'ha  mato,  arrowhead  large. 

Mi  sit,  point;  or  miset  (?).     Upper  Lake  Porno. 

M  sa  kalle,  spiral,  or  snake;  name  of  a  certain  spotted  snake. 

Pau  shna,  acorn  top  (Pan,  corn,  and  shna,  head). 

Sakalle  (Yokaia  for  snake). 

Siot  sio,  zigzag,  waves. 

Tchikaka  ke-ya,  quail  tip  (Tchikaka,  quail;  ke-ya,  top  knot). 

Una  leu,  crossing. 

Utcha,  neck. 

Mr.  Purdy's  interpretations  of  Porno  symbols  will  be  found  in  Dr. 
Dixon's  paper  before  quoted.  If  the  reader  have  a  collection  of  Poino 
baskets,  an  examination  of  the  symbols  on  them  in  comparison  with 
the  Dixon  plates  will  demonstrate  what  liberties  the  basket  weaver 
took  with  her  designs.  May  be,  it  were  better  to  say,  what  struggles 
she  made  to  realize  a  design  or  symbol  under  general  and  special  lim 
itations. 

POMO  (KULANAPAN)  DESIGNS,  DIXON' s  PLATES 

Arrow  point.     (Plates  29,  30,  33,  36.)  Quail  tip.     (Plates  27,  28,  29,  36.) 

Buckeye  tree.     (Plates  27,  34.)  Red  mountains.     (Plates  27,  30,  31,  33, 

Crossing  tracks.     (Plates  28,  29,  34,  36.)  34,  35.) 

Crow's  track.     (Plates  34,  35.)  Spotted  fawn  skin.     (Plate  27.) 

Grasshopper  leg.     ( Plate  27. )  Unknown  designs.     ( Plate  32. ) 

Leaf.      (Plate  27. )  Zigzag.     (Plates  28,  29,  30,  32,  33,  35,  36.) 
Meshes  in  fish  net.     (Plates  30,  31,  33, 
34,  35. ) 

To  illustrate  the  technic  of  symbolism,  Plate  81,  Catalogue  No. 
203398,  collected  by  Dr.  J.  W.  Hudson,  is  presented.  It  shows  a 
gift  basket  of  the  Porno  Indians,  made  by  a  Yokian  woman  whose 
name  is  Keshbim,  who  worked  upon  it  seven  months.  The  pattern  is 
a  pictograph  of  a  feast,  the  bottom  of  the  basket  being  tule  mats 
(bitsan)  interspersed  on  the  assembly  hall  floor,  not  shown  in  the 
figure.  The  band  of  rhomboid  figures  around  the  bottom  is  the  roof 
of  the  dance  lodge  with  its  rafters  crossed  and  interlaced,  and  the 
dancers,  male  and  female,  are  celebrating  the  Ma  a  ca  ka  (food-falling) 
harvest  (acorns).  The  Pomos  have  four  seasons  in  their  year,  begin 
ning  on  the  first  full  moon  (cha  na  bu  sa  da,  thumb  moon)  in  July,  and 
Sahanim,  smoke-floating  time,  has  four  moons;  Ma  a  ca  ka  has  three 
moons,  beginning  with  Ba  too  da,  index  moon.  Kat  sa  na,  green 
earth,  has  three  moons,  and  Katsami,  green-things  time,  has  three 
moons.  This  basket,  under  the  old  regime,  would  have  been  presented 
to  some  friend  during  the  feast,  demanding  a  very  handsome  return, 
for  no  one  appreciated  a  fine  piece  of  work  like  a  Porno  woman.  The 
foundation  is  of  willow  rods.  The  sewing-  is  not  done  with  linen 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETKY.  331 

thread  as  one  would  suppose,  but  with  roots  split  so  fine  that  in  some 
places  the  sewing  shows  60  stitches  to  the  inch. 

Dr.  Dixon  has  made  careful  personal  investigations  concerning  the 
symbolism  on  the  basketry  of  California  tribes  east  of  the  Sacramento 
River.  a  The  following  designs  with  their  tribal  assignments  may  be 
found  in  Dr.  Dixon's  plates: 


WINTUM  (COPEHAN)  DESIGNS 


Arrow  points.     (Plate  23.) 
Bear's  foot.     (Plate  23.) 
Bent  elbow.     (Plate  23.) 
Cross  waves.     (Plate  24.) 
Deer  excrement.     ( Plate  24. ) 
Empty  spool.     (Plate  24. ) 
Fishtail.     (Plate  23.) 


Flying  geese.     (Plate  23.) 
Leaves  strung.     (Plate  24.) 
Pulled  around .     ( Plate  24. ) 
Rattlesnake.      (Plate  23. ) 
Striped.     (Plate  24.) 
Water  snake.     (Plate  23.) 
Wolf's  eye.     (Plate  23.) 


MOQUELUMNAN    DESIGNS 

Eye.     (Plate  26.)  |  Quail  tip.     (Plate  26.) 

PIT  RIVER  (PALAIHNIHAN)  DESIGNS 


Arrow  point.     (Plate  22.) 


Skunk's  nose.     (Plate  22.) 


Lizzard.     (Plate  23.) 

MAIDU  (PUJUNAN)  DESIGNS 


Deer  excrement.     ( Plate  25. 
Earthworm.     (Plate  25.) 


Rattlesnake.     ( Plate  25. ) 
Water  snake.     (Plate  25.) 


NOZI  (YANAN)  DESIGNS 
Wolf's  eve.     ( Plate  25.)  |  House.     (Plate  25.) 

Dr.  Dixon's  conclusions  are  of  interest.  Designs  are  subject  to 
much  variation,  chiefly  through  different  arrangements  of  elementary 
and  constant  forms  in  the  pattern.  If  there  are  two  or  more  types 
for  the  same  element  they  are  never  found  together.  Designs  are 
essentially  the  same  on  coiled  and  twined  basketry,  but  most  of  the 
Maidu  baskets  are  coiled,  and  there  is  suggestion  of  acculturation  from 
the  Pit  Rivers.  Function  and  form  of  the  basket  have  something  to 
do  with  symbols,  certain  designs  being  restricted  to  plaques,  others 
to  soup  bowls,  and  so  on.  The  spiral  line  is  a  favorite  in  massing 
symbols.  Some  of  the  patterns  are  found  everywhere  in  the  Maidu 
area,  others  are  quite  restricted.  In  most  cases,  and  this  is  the  uni 
versal  testimony,  the  intent  of  the  design  is  not  clear  from  mere 
inspection,  but  must  be  explained  before  it  can  be  understood.  The 
author's  summaiy  of  Maidu  symbols  is  the  very  large  variety  and 
number,  the  frequency  of  animal  designs,  the  unusual  predominance 
of  plant  designs,  the  number  in  which  the  realism  is  obscured,  the 

«  Basketry  Designs  of  the  Indians  of  Northern  California,  Bulletin  of  the  American 
Museum  of  Natural  History,  XVII,  pp.  1-32,  37  plates. 


332  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

tendency  to  spiral  and  zigzag  patterns,  and  the  well-nigh  universal 
practice  of  putting  but  a  single  design  on  a  basket. 

Plate  82,  fig.  1,  is  a  Washoe  basket  8-J-  inches  high,  12  inches  wide, 
and  6  inches  across  the  opening.  There  are  30  stitches  to  the  inch. 
Colors,  red,  black,  and  brown.  Weight,  16  ounces.  The  legend  is 
named  "  Migrating,"  or  "When  the  birds  leave  their  nests  and  fly  away 
we  shall  move."  The  lower  left-hand  basket,  fig.  2,  is  7  inches  high, 
11 J-  inches  across,  and  (>  inches  over  the  opening,  with  30  stitches  to  the 
inch.  The  body  is  light-gold  color,  and  the  ornamentations  are  in 
red  and  black.  Weight,  15  ounces.  The  legend  is,  "Rays  of  the 
sun  ascending."  An  attempt  to  imitate  the  radial  appearance  of  the 
light  at  sunrise.  The  lower  right-hand  basket,  fig.  3,  is  7  inches  high, 
6  inches  across  the  opening,  and  11£  inches  in  diameter,  with  30 
stitches  to  the  inch.  The  body  is  light-gold  color  and  the  decorations 
are  in  red  and  black.  Attention  is  invited  to  the  intricate  combina 
tion  of  squares  and  triangles,  stepped  patterns,  and  rhombs  to  form 
the  total  design  on  the  surface.  These  symbols  relate  to  the  different 
ranks  or  degrees  in  the  chieftancy  of  the  tribe  which  they  are  entitled 
to  receive  by  inheritance.  This  information  is  based  on  the  studies  of 
A.  Cohn,  of  Carson  City,  Nevada. 

Plate  83  is  a  Tulare  bottle-neck,  collected  on  Tule  River,  Tulare 
County,  California,  and  is  in  the  collection  of  C.  P.  Wilcomb.  The 
material  and  sewing  are  similar  to  those  in  other  Tulare  baskets. 
The  ornamentation  deserves  especial  attention.  The  bands  of  rhombs 
on  the  body  and  the  part  on  the  upper  border  which  resembles  the 
shaftment  and  feather  of  an  arrow  are  common  to  the  region.  On  the 
middle  of  the  body,  however,  is  a  band  of  ornamentation  which 
resembles  the  Egyptian  ankh.  It  is  useless  to  speculate  on  the  origin 
of  this  symbol,  since  the  Indians  in  this  part  of  California  have  been 
in  touch  with  the  Latin- American  race  for  centuries.  In  this  Inyo- 
Kern-Tulare  subarea  Dr.  C.  Hart  Merriam  finds  the  crenellated 
design  to  be  associated  in  symbolism  with  the  spasmodic  flight  of  the 
butterfly  as  it  flits  among  the  flowers  (see  Plates  41,  188,  192,  194) 
and  calls  attention  to  the  dispersion  of  the  symbol  as  far  north  as 
southeastern  Alaska. 

Designs  were  found  by  Dr.  George  H.  Pepper a  on  the  ancient 
basketry  from  the  caves  of  southeastern  Utah.  He  refers  them  to 
symbols  as  they  are  now  understood  among  living  tribes,  but  recognizes 
that  such  forms  do  not  stand  for  the  same  object  always,  even  in  the 
same  tribe.  The  designs  given  are  the  butterfly  of  the  Maidu,  water 
fowls,  mountain,  and  sun.  A  glance  at  the  beautiful  workmanship 
and  the  designs  on  Dr.  Pepper's  specimens  at  once  places  them  not 

«The  Ancient  Basketmakers  of  Southeastern  Utah,  Guide  Leaflet  No.  6  of  the 
American  Museum  of  Natural  History. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  333 

in  the  Ute  or  Shoshonean  family,  but  with  the  exquisite  basket-making 
tribes  westward  in  California.  They  have  the  three-rod  foundation. 
The  upper  one  is  17i  inches  in  diameter  and  5  inches  deep. 

The  basket  having  the  butterfly  design  was  found  over  the  body  of 
an  infant,  and  this  led  the  finder  to  the  conviction  that  the  forms  had 
some  mythic  significance.  These  specimens,  and  many  more,  belong 
ing  to  the  Wetherill,  the  McLeod,  and  Graham  collections  are  now  in 
the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  New  York.  (See  Plate  84.) 

The  Pueblos  called  Hopi  in  northeastern  Arizona  were  visited  by 
the  Spaniards  in  the  early  part  of  the  16th  century.  Having  no  gold 
to  tempt  the  avarice  of  the  conquerors,  they  were  let  alone.  On  their 
coiled  and  wicker  baskets,  used  in  their  religious  ceremonies,  are  shown 
the  personages  and  phenomena  most  intimately  associated  with  their 
cult.  I  am  indebted  to  Dr.  J.  Walter  Fewkes  for  the  interpretation 
of  their  symbolism. 

The  basket  shown  in  Plate  85  is  peculiar  to  the  Hopi  village  of 
Oraibi;  has  a  picture  of  the  Corn  Maiden  (Shalakomana  or  Palahiko- 
mana).  The  head  bears  the  representation  of  a  tablet  which  is  sym 
bolic  of  the  rain  clouds.  The  colors  represent  the  rain  clouds  of  the 
four  cardinal  points:  Yellow,  the  north;  blue,  the  west;  red,  the  south; 
white,  the  east.  Usually  in  representations  of  this  maiden  the  Hopi 
hair  puffs  are  represented.  A  design  on  the  forehead  stands  for  an  ear 
of  corn,  which  is  one  of  the  symbolic  marks  of  this  maiden.  There 
ought  to  be  represented  in  the  middle  of  the  forehead,  dependent  from 
this  ear  of  corn,  a  fragment  of  Haliotis  shell.  This  is  for  the  rain 
bow.  The  two  eyes  appear  as  bands,  and  should  be  of  different 
colors,  the  left  green  or  blue,  the  right  red.  The  two  bands  below 
the  eyes  are  meant  for  facial  markings  which  are  generally  triangular 
in  shape.  Green  and  red  stripes  on  the  chin  represent  the  rainbow. 
On  paintings  the  bow  is  curved  the  other  way,  but  the  restrictions  of 
basket  making  require  the  curve  to  be  downward.  The  blanket  on 
the  body  is  a  garment  made  of  feathers,  the  individual  feathers  being 
represented  by  blue  and  red  bands.  This  is  the  earth  goddess  or 
corn  goddess.  Interesting  descriptions  of  the  ceremony  in  which 
this  Corn  Maiden  or  sky  goddess  is  engaged  will  be  found  in  Dr. 
Fewkes's  interesting  paper  a  on  the  Minor  Hopi  Festivals.  On  Plate 
24,  opposite  page  494  of  his  article,  is  illustrated  the  Palahiko-mana 
dance.  She  is  shown  as  the  central  figure.  The  headdress,  body 
garment,  and  embroidered  blanket  are  represented  in  full.  The  head 
dress  is  decked  with  feather  plumes,  and  altogether  the  appearance 
is  more  striking.  The  basket  weaver  has  done  her  best  where  her 
pictorial  ability  gave  out,  at  least,  to  indicate  the  presence  of  even  the 
clan  markings  on  the  face,  which  in  the  drawings  picture  the  human 
hand. 

« American  Anthropologist,  N.  S.,  IV,  1902,  pp.  482-511. 


334  EEPOET    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

The  top  figure,  Plate  93,  shows  the  birds  of  the  four  cardinal  points, 
two  very  much  enlarged  and  two  smaller.  The  stripes  on  the  border 
are  the  tail  feathers  of  the  larger  birds.  The  limitations  of  the  basket 
maker  are  well  shown  in  the  specimen,  in  that  all  perspective  is  neg 
lected  and  eveiy  part  of  the  body  brought  to  the  same  plane;  the  feet 
are  turned  around  so  as  to  show  the  toes. 

The  lower  figure  in  the  same  plate  represents  one  bird.  The  head 
on  the  upper  margin  having  rain-cloud  appendages,  the  beak  being 
represented  by  an  extension  on  the  right  hand  side.  The  wider  sym 
bolic  colors  are  abbreviated  in  every  part.  The  bend  in  the  knee  is 
shown  by  the  rectangular  spaces  representing  the  leg.  (See  Plate  93.) 

The  basket  shown  in  Plate  4V7  was  made  at  the  Hopi  village  of 
Oraibi.  The  symbols  on  this  basket  represent  the  sky  birds  of  the 
four  cardinal  points,  two  of  which  are  larger,  two  smaller,  apparently 
made  so  for  want  of  room.  The  central  figure  represents  the  heart  of 
the  sky  with  geometrical  rain -cloud  figures.  The  sky  god  has  a 
number  of  names. 

In  the  upper  figure  (see  Plate  216),  the  designs  have  got  past  the 
pictorial  stage,  and  the  meaning  could  only  be  known  by  consulting 
the  maker  of  the  basket.  It  is  doubtful  whether  she  did  any  more 
than  what  she  saw  her  mother  do.  It  might  be  possible,  if  a  large 
series  were  had,  to  follow  this  symbol  outward  to  the  known  pictorial 
form. 

The  lower  figure  in  this  plate  represents  the  four  birds  of  the  car 
dinal  points.  The  standard  colors  of  the  cardinal  points  are  not  all 
in  the  design  because  the  basket  itself  is  yellow,  which  deprived  the 
workwoman  of  the  privilege  of  representing  the  north.  The  symbol 
is  very  highly  conventionalized. 

The  figures  on  both  examples,  Plate  30,  denote  rain  clouds. 

The  same  types  of  symbolism,  occasioned  by  the  climate,  the  phys 
ical  features  and  productions  of  the  arid  region  will  be  found  at  Zuni 
and  among  the  Rio  Grande  Pueblos."  Symbolism  on  the  basketry  of 
Middle  and  South  America  has  not  been  worked  out. 

a  F.  H.  Gushing,  A  Study  of  Pueblo  Pottery,  Fourth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau 
of  Ethnology,  Washington,  1887,  pp.  467-521. 

For  a  fuller  explanation  of  the  rich  symbolism  surviving  in  the  Pueblo  region  the 
reader  must  consult  the  papers  of  J.  AV.  Fewkes,  to  be  found  illustrated  in  the  Amer 
ican  Anthropologist,  N.  S.,  V,  1899-1903,  and  in  the  reports  of  the  Bureau  of  American 
Ethnology. 

A  Study  of  Textile  Art  in  Its  Relation  to  the  Development  of  Form  and  Ornament, 
Sixth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  AArashington,  1889,  pp.  189-252; 
also,  Prehistoric  Textile  Art  of  Eastern  United  States,  Thirteenth  Annual  Report  of 
the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  AVashington,  1896,  pp.  3-45 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETEY.  335 

VI.  USES  OF  BASKETRY 

Blessed  shall  be  thy  basket  and  thy  store.— DEUTKRONOMY,  XXVIII:  5. 

Nature  has  provided  members  of  the  animal  kingdom  with  recepta 
cles  which  are  a  part  of  their  anatomy.  The  camel  has  its  water 
sack,  the  ruminant  animals  have  their  extra  stomach  for  the  storage 
of  grasses,  the  squirrel  carries  nuts  in  the  pouch  in  the  side  of  his 
cheek,  and  certain  insects  are  provided  with  various  means  of  trans 
porting  food  to  a  distance.  It  remained  for  the  human  race  to  invent 
appliances  to  accomplish  similar  results,  and  basketry  forms  one  of 
the  principal  means  adapted  to  such  needs.  There  is  practically  no 
limit  to  the  uses  to  which  basket-work  weaving  has  been  put.  The 
enumeration  of  these  uses  in  detail  will  show  what  a  prominent  place 
the  receptacle  has  had  for  holding  water,  food,  and  other  precious 
objects,  for  gathering  the  materials  connected  with  industry  and  for 
transporting  them.  Basketry  also  enters  into  the  house,  the  furniture, 
the  clothing,  the  armor,  the  domestic  economy,  the  family  life,  and 
religion  of  the  American  tribes. 

There  are  a  multitude  of  secondary  uses  of  baskets  which  will  be 
mentioned  in  the  proper  place.  Certainly  they  have  done  as  much  as 
any  other  industry  to  develop  the  intellectual  life  of  savage  women, 
both  a  knowledge  of  the  resources  of  nature  and  a  taste  for  aesthetic 
products.  Tt  will  also  be  found  that  there  is  no  gulf  between  basketry, 
beadwork,  lacework,  and  loom  work.  There  are  times  when  the  basket 
weaver  suspends  her  work  and,  with  the  use  of  her  lingers  alone, 
imitates  the  products  of  most  complicated  weaving  frames.  The 
highest  steps  in  basket  making  will  be  the  first  steps  in  the  great 
mechanical  art  which  now  costs  so  many  millions  of  dollars  and 
emplo}7s  so  many  human  beings. 

Before  the  coming  of  the  European,  basketry  supplied  nearly  every 
domestic  necessity  of  the  Indians,  from  an  infant's  cradle  to  the  richly- 
decorated  funerary  jars  burned  with  the  dead.  The  wealth  of  a  family 
was  counted  in  the  number  and  beauty  of  its  baskets  and  the  highest 
virtue  of  woman  was  her  ability  to  produce  them.  Some  domestic 
vessels  were  named  for  the  particular  service  they  performed;  as 
bi-ti-bo-um/  (dishes),  or  Ka-dem  (water  giver)  among  the  Pomos;  but 
the  majority  were  known  by  their  weave  or  shape.  Vessels  of  the 
Tee  weave,  says  Hudson,  bore  the  brunt  of  culinary  usage,  as  pots, 
pails,  roasters,  etc.  There  were  two  varieties  of  sifters;  the  coarse 
pshu-kan  separating  the  crumbs  for  nut  cake,  etc.,  and  the  ma-a-po-i, 
or  finer  sifter  (a  conoid  utensil),  which,  slightly  tilted  and  struck 
sharply  within  by  the  finger  tips,  spills  the  chaff  over  the  outer 
margin. 


336  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 

The  great  value  of  her  work  reflected  upon  the  make1'  herself.  It 
was  the  most  expert  woman  in  basketry,  says  Miss  Jennie  C.  Carr, 
who  brought  the  highest  price,  namely,  two  strings  of  shell  money. 

Of  old  basketry  some  examples  are  clean  while  others  are  soiled  and 
dilapidated.  The  former  had  the  good  fortune  to  fall  into  careful 
hands  half  a  century  ago,  when  they  were  new,  and  have  with  the  years 
merely  faded  down  to  their  indescribable  shades.  The  other  precious 
old  pieces  have  been 

Dipped  in  baths  of  hissing  tears 
And  battered  by  the  shocks  of  doom. 

The  study  of  structure  in  basketiy,  as  in  other  activities,  leads  to 
investigations  concerning  functions  and  use.  Among  the  least  favored 
tribes  in  this  regard  there  is  a  similarity  to  the  lower  forms  of  animal 
life  where  the  same  structure  performs  a  number  of  processes.  It  is 
also  common  to  see  among  plain  sort  of  people  and  the  uneducated 
one  utensil  used  for  many  purposes.  So  with  the  little  advanced 
tribes  of  Indians  there  will  be  one  technical  process  in  basket  making 
and  very  small  variety  of  forms  for  many  uses,  but  when  the  more 
advanced  and  skillful  tribes  are  reached  there  is  a  differentiation  of 
function  and  along  with  it  corresponding  differences  in  structure  and 
technical  processes  even  in  the  same  piece. 

In  the  study  of  function  there  are  two  inquiries  of  equal  value, 
namely,  (1)  the  geographic  distribution  of  functions  together  with 
the  particular  types  of  basketry  that  are  used  to  perform  these  offices 
from  place  to  place,  and  (2)  tribal  origins  and  purposes  in  order  to 
connect  function  with  ethnological  and  geographical  studies.  In  each 
one  of  the  six  areas  into  which  the  Western  Hemisphere  has  been 
divided  the  uses  to  which  baskets  are  put  will  be  decided  by  the  ani 
mals,  plants,  and  minerals  that  are  indispensable  to  the  happiness  of 
the  people,  and  the  forms  and  characteristics  of  the  baskets  will 
depend  upon  the  plants  that  are  to  be  had  for  making  them.  On  the 
seashore  there  must  be  clam  baskets  and  fish  baskets.  In  the  interior 
there  will  be  berry  baskets;  and  in  those  regions  where  no  pottery  is 
to  be  found  cooking  baskets,  in  which  food  is  boiled  by  means  of  hot 
stones,  are  among  the  commonest  objects  in  sight.  From  the  other 
point  of  view  a  more  subtle  question  arises,  whether  ethnology  has 
anything  to  do  with  basket  materials  or  things  to  be  carried  in  them. 
In  tracing  the  history  of  invention  during  its  primitive  stages  it  will 
at  once  be  recognized  that  the  art  of  basket  making  was  greatly  stim 
ulated  by  the  multiplication  of  ends  to  be  served;  that  the  inventive 
faculty  having  such  a  versatile  and  accommodating  material  found 
scope  for  its  own  enlargement  and  improvement.  In  the  end  it  be 
comes  apparent  that  the  art  and  the  artist  have  set  themselves  one  to 
the  other  u  like  perfect  music  unto  perfect  words."  The  basket 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  337 

adapts  itself  to  the  woman's  life.  It  is  not  easy  to  pin  any  special 
structure  upon  a  definite  tribe,  however,  since  women  were  captured 
or  ran  away  mayhap  into  other  tribes.  A  quiet  system  of  pedagogy 
was  going  on  all  the  time  in  basketry,  as  well  as  in  other  activities. 
The  uses  of  basketry  will  be  given  in  further  detail,  the  topics  arranged 
in  alphabetic  order. 

An  interesting  phase  of  the  struggle  between  use  and  beauty  is  to 
be  seen  in  the  compromises  which  they  make  for  space  on  the  same 
basket.  The  jewel,  the  cremation  chef  d'oeuvre,  the  precious  gift  to 
a  friend,  may  be  covered  with  designs,  have  the  most  beautiful  on  the 
bottom,  or  where  the  maker's  fancy  led  her.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
piece  for  common  uses  is  a  despair  of  the  artist;  it  is  bereft  of  orna 
ment.  Among  the  Tlinkit  of  southeastern  Alaska,  while  the  covered 
trinket  baskets  are  decorated  to  the  ground,  the  cylindrical  food 
baskets  are  plain  near  the  bottom,  and  in  many  examples  half  the  way 
up  the  body.  This  compromise  in  decoration  is  more  apparent  in  the 
heavy  coiled  work  of  the  British  Columbia  tribes.  Boxes  for  show, 
cradles,  and  such  examples  are  surrendered  to  the  decorator,  while  the 
berry  baskets  and  cooking  pots  have  their  decorations  chiefly  on  the 
upper  portion  of  the  body.  This  fact  limits  the  motives  in  the  design. 
On  old  pieces  it  is  melancholy  to  see  how  the  hard  wear  of  years  has 
invaded  the  sacred  precincts  of  art  and  destroyed  even  the  symbols  of 
religion.  On  the  California  basketry  art  was  predominant.  The 
spirals  descend  nearly  to  the  bottoms  of  the  mush  bowls  and  the 
carrying  baskets,  but  a  glance  reveals  at  the  point  of  strain  a  patch 
of  ordinaiy  strong  weaving  or  a  protective  covering. 

As  previously  mentioned,  baskets  are  receptacles  of  some  kind  or 
other.  They  do  not  of  themselves  usually  perform  work,  but  are 
used  for  holding  the  materials  and  apparatus  of  work.  The  art  of 
basketry,  however— that  is,  the  plication  or  working  of  somewhat 
rigid  materials — easily  passed  out  of  the  mere  making  of  receptacles 
into  the  construction  of  all  sorts  of  objects  needed  in  daily  life. 

The  uses  of  basketry  are  either  industrial  or  ideal.  Industrially, 
they  are  connected  first  with  the  whole  range  of  obtaining  food  or 
nourishment  and  the  other  natural  materials  upon  which  all  history 
depends. 

With  the  secondary  industries,  called  manufactures,  with  trans 
portation,  and  with  consumption  or  enjoyment,  one  has  but  to  take  a 
stroll  along  the  crowded  dock,  as  in  a  great  seaport,  or  the  bus}r  ware 
house  of  any  modern  city,  to  become  familiar  with  the  infinite  number 
of  ways  in  which  the  basket  lends  its  services  to  the  comfort  of  the 
human  race. 

All  of  these  functions,  so  intricate  and  diversified  in  civilization,  are 
Represented  in   savagery   by  much   more  simple   occupations,   from 
•which,  however,  the  basket  is  never  absent. 
1  NAT  MUS  1902 22 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

Beyond  the  drudgeries  of  life  lie  its  beatitudes,  and  here  the  basket 
is  also  present.  In  fine  art,  in  social  functions,  in  birth,  in  lore,  in 
custom,  and  even  in  burial  it  is  not  absent. 

A  detailed  description  of  the  way  in  which  these  functions  are  per 
formed  by  basketry,  with  abundant  illustrations,  will  show  just  what 
is  meant  in  these  declarations. 

IX  THE  CARRYING  INDUSTRY 

Carrying  in  baskets  was  done  by  the  Americans  on  the  head,  on  the 
back  with  head  band  or  breast  strap,  and  in  the  hands;  about  the 
home  the  basket  was  scarcely  ever  absent.  It  was  the  strongest  of  all 
Indian  fabrics,  easily  made  into  any  shape  convenient  to  the  load  or 
the  carrier,  and  it  was  lightness  itself.  In  a  hemisphere  almost  devoid 
of  pack  animals,  where  woman  was  the  ubiquitous  beast  of  burden,  is 
it  any  wonder  that  she  invented  the  most  economical  of  devices  for 
holding  and  transporting?  Since  nothing  grows  where  it  is  wanted, 
an  attempt  to  enumerate  the  things  transported  in  baskets  would  be  to 
list  every  natural  material  that  contributed  to  the  Indian's  happiness. 
Mineral,  vegetal,  and  animal  substances  are  all  in  there,  Clay  from 
the  quarry,  water  from  the  spring,  stones  for  working,  firewood, 
edible  roots,  fruits,  and  seeds,  textile  materials,  lish,  flesh,  and  fowl 
are  a  part  of  the  freight  ever  on  the  move  throughout  the  culture 
areas. 

The  carrying  basket  did  not  lose  its  multitudinous  functions  for 
women  with  the  departure  of  savagery.  One  has  only  to  look  into 
market  houses  and  stores,  walk  along  the  streets,  or  visit  farms  in  the 
country  to  be  convinced  of  this. 

They  are  borne  on  the  head,  shoulder,  hips,  or  knees;  they  are  hung 
to  the  body  in  every  possible  fashion,  and  carried  by  two  or  more 
persons  with  the  hands— all  for  loading  ships,  cars,  or  wagons.  They 
are  used  also  as  panniers  on  the  backs  of  animals,  and  smaller  and 
better  specimens  are  used  by  the  interminable  procession  of  children 
and  buyers  and  travelers. 

The  transportation  basket  did  not  cease  as  a  stimulus  to  invention 
with  its  holding  things  and  spurring  the  maker  to  do  her  best  in  its 
composition.  It  waked  up  her  mind  in  other  directions.  Her  feet 
had  to  be  fitly  shod  to  gather  materials;  thus  sandals  were  often  in 
basket  work.  Her  clothing  required  adjustments  to  new  occupations 
and  exposures  in  the  new  activities  made  possible  by  the  art.  Even 
the  baskets  of  other  functions  were  perfected  and  new  functions  were 
created  by  the  carrying  art. 

In  the  report  of  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  for  1894 a  a  large  num- 

o  O.  T.  Mason,  Report  of  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1894,  pp.  237-593,  pis.  1-°"  / 
figs.  1-257. 


ABOKIGLNAL    AMEKICAN    BASKETRY. 


339 


ber  of  illustrations  are  devoted  to  showing  the  variety  of  ways  in 

which  baskets   may  become  vehicles   among  the   aborigines   of  our 

hemisphere. 

Edwin  Bryant  describes  the  moving  of   a  Sioux  camp  near  Fort 

Laramie  in  1846. a    The  tent  poles  were  fastened  to  the  sides  of  the 

ponies  for  travaux.     Crosspieces  were  lashed  to  these 

and  small  children  were  confined  in  cages  made  from 

willows  in  the  form  of  crates  for  crockery,  having 

doors  on  the  sides. 

The  Moki,  or  Hopi,  Indians  of  to-day,  in  addition 

to  the  woven  head  ring  and  the  ordinary  head  straps 

for  carrying 
loads,  have  in 
use  a  breast 
band  of'  yucca 
fiber  for  drag 
ging  loads  over 
the  ground. 
(See  figs.  105 
and  106.)  The 
Papago  women 
fit  a  lacework 
frame  to  the 
back  in  carry 
ing  loads  for 
long  journeys. 
(See  fig.  106.) 
The  Apaches 
make  a  spe 
cial  pannier  in 
twined  work, 
one  of  which 

will  fit  the  human  back,  and  two 
may  be  used  on  a  donkey. 

Plate  86,  from  a  photograph 
by  A.  W.  Ericson,  represents  a 
Hupa  Indian  woman  using  the 
carrying  basket  for  firewood. 
On  her  head  she  wears  one  of  the 


FIG.  105. 
BREAST  BAND  FOR 

HAULING. 

Zuni,  New  Mexico. 

Cat.  No.  70962,  U.S.N.M. 
Collected  by  James  Ste 
venson. 


FIG.  106. 


CARRYING   FRAME. 

Papago  Indians,  Mexico. 
After  W  J  McGee. 

beautiful  little  conical  basket  caps  of  this  tribe,  common  in  collec 
tions.  A  band  of  leather  passes  across  her  forehead,  and  the  load  of 
wood  is  supported  on  her  back.  There  is  no  other  function  of  bas 
ketry  so  universally  widespread  as  this. 

According  to  Muhlenpf  ordt  the  Pimas  and  Maricopas  make  a  basket 


(l  Rocky  Mountain  Adventures,  p.  110. 


340 


EEPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 


boat  which  they  call  ucora,"  woven  so  tight  as  to  be  waterproof 
without  the  aid  of  pitch  or  other  application.  And  upon  the  same 
parallel  of  latitude,  along  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  the  Indians  used  to 
cross  the  rivers  on  floats  of  cane  woven  together  and  called  "cajen." 
Bundles  of  cane  were  laid  together  sidewise,  and  over  them  others, 
the  whole  being  woven  together. a 

Formerly  mats  were  used  by  the  Makah  as  canoe  sails,  but  at 
present  they  are  employed  for  wrapping  up  blankets,  for  protecting 
the  cargoes  in  canoes,  and  for  sale  to  the  whites,  who  use  them  as  linirg 
of  rooms,  or  as  floor  coverings  (James  G.  Swan). 

Besides  the  endless  carrying  of  things  among  the  Indians,  called 

transportation,  there  is,  it  must 
not  be  forgotten,  a  large  amount 
of  passenger  movement.  The 
cradle,  or,  more  correctly,  the 
papoose  basket,  was  the  beginning 
of  devices  for  carrying  persons. 
Except  a  little  riding  by  people 
of  note  on  the  backs  of  men  in  the 
Andes,  only  infants  were  passen 
gers  in  aboriginal  days  through 
out  America. 

For  the  infant  there  were  three 
zones  of  going  about  in  the  West 
ern  Hemisphere,  the  Arctic,  the 
Temperate,  and  the  Tropical; 
speaking  technically,  the  zone  of 
the  fur  hood,  the  zone  of  the  car 
rying  frame,  and  the  zone  of  free 
motion.  The  Atlantic  province 
tribes  made  use  of  flat  boards  or 
racks,  the  Eskimo  mother  carried 
her  babe  safely  ensconced  in  her 
ample  hood  of  fur.  The  cradle 
of  southeastern  Alaska  and  the 
mainland  near  by  were  troughs,  but  most  of  the  Pacific  tribes  made 
their  papoose  frames  of  basketry,  and  it  is  to  these  that  attention  is 
invited.  In  nearly  all  of  them  the  feet  and  head  are  left  free.ft  The 
jlupa  Indians,  on  the  Hupa  Reservation,  in  northwestern  California, 
belong  to  the  Athapascan  family  in  Alaska  and  northwestern  Canada, 
and  that  may  account  for  the  resemblance  of  their  cradles  in  form 
to  those  of  birch  bark  made  by  the  tribes  of  that  northern  region. 

«Du  Pratz,  History  of  Louisiana,  London,  1763,  II,  pp.  228-229.  Dumont  also 
mentions  rafts  of  poles  and  canes. 

&  O.  T.  Mason,  Primitive  Travel  and  Transportation.  Report  of  the  U.  S.  National 
Museum,  1894,  p.  521. 


FIG.  107. 
TWINED  CRADLE. 

Hupa  Indians. 
Cat.  No.  126519,  U.S.N.M.    Collected  by  P.  H.  Ray,  U.  S.  A. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


341 


Structurally,  they  are  in  plain  twined  weaving,  with  here  and  there  a 
row  of  wrapped  twine  and  false  braid.  In  passing,  it  may  be  noted 
that  these  Hupa  babies  are  not  strapped  on  a  board  as  among  the 
eastern  tribes,  nor  are  their  heads  bandaged  as  are  those  of  the  tribes 
along  the  coast  of  British  Columbia/*  (See  fig.  107.) 

IN  DEFENSE  AND  WAR 

Basket  armor  of  the  tribes  on  the  Pacific  Coast  is  made  of  narrow 
slats  of  wood,  recalling  those  in  the  bottoms  of  some  of  the  Lillooet 
Indian  baskets  in  British  Columbia.  The  slats  are  associated  with 
straight  rods  of  hard  wood.  These  are  woven  with  cords  in  regular 
twined  weaving.  The  twine  is  finely  spun  and  laid  on  so  as  to  produce 
an  ornamental  effect  upon  the  surface.  This  basket  ornament  has  been 


^  FIG.  108. 

STICK  ARMOR  TWINED  TOGETHER. 

California. 
After  W.  Hough. 

found  in  caves  of  the  Aleutian  Islands,  also  among  the  Tlinkit  Indians 
of  the  Pacific  Coast  as  far  south  as  the  Hupa  Indians  of  the  coast  of 
California.  In  some  specimens  wicker  weaving  takes  the  place  of 
twined  weaving. b 

An  examination  of  Hough's  Plates  Y,  8,  9,  10,  11,  13,  14,  and  15  will 
show  how  the  weft  of  twine  in  basketry  is  transferred  to  slat  armor 
worn  anciently  by  the  Tlinkit,  Aleut,  Takoo,  Shasta,  Hupa,  and 
Klamath  Indians  was  held  together. 

Fig.  108,  reproduced  here,  illustrates  one  in  which  the  twined 
basketry  was  applied  to  this  sort  of  armor. 

«See  Report  of  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1887,  p.  178,  fig.  11. 
&  Walter  Hough,  Primitive  American  Armor.    Reportof  the  U.  S.  National  Museum, 
1893,  pp.  625-651. 


342  BEPOBT    OF   NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 

The  Massawomekes,  on  the  Chesapeake  Ba}T,  had  similar  basket 
shields  or  armor.  Smith"  speaks  of  them  as  made  of  little  small 
sticks  woven  u  betwixt  strings  of  thin  hernpe  and  silke  grass,"  but  so 
firmly  that  no  arrow  could  possibly  pierce  them.  Comparing  this 
description  with  the  figure  above  leaves  no  doubt  of  the  similarity  of 
the  defense  on  both  sides  of  the  continent. 

IN  DRESS  AND  ADORNMENT 

Basketry,  laying  aside  its  chief  function  of  holding  something,  is 
even  now  used  extensively  among  man}^  tribes  in  dress  and  adornment 
of  the  person,  it  was  mentioned  in  the  section  on  carrying  that  the 
exigencies  of  going  about  stimulated  the  inventive  faculty  not  onl}^  in 
the  basket  industry  but  in  other  crafts  accessoiy  to  travel.  The  fore 
most  of  these  companion  arts  is  that  of  sandal  or  shoe  maker.  It  is 
true  that  boots  of  hide  and  moccasins  of  tawed  skin  are  the  commonest 
supply  of  this  want,  but  there  is  a  vast  portion  of  America  where  the 
sandal  holds  sway.  They  are  made  of  tough  fiber  and  woven  in  wicker, 
checker,  twill,  twined  in  a  number  of  fashions.  Some  of  the  cliff- 
dwellers'  sandals  are  studies  in  weaving  three  and  even  four  ply. 
Many  of  them  are  figured  in  a  paper  on  Primitive  Travel  and  Trans 
portation.  b  (See  Plate  87.) 

But,  far  more  than  the  feet,  the  head  claims  the  basket  weaver's  art 
the  world  over.  In  America  the  basket  hat  clings  to  the  Pacific  slope. 
As  soon  as  the  Indian  area  is  reached  in  southeastern  Alaska  the  hat 
bursts  into  bloom.  It  is  made  not  only  for  comfort,  to  save  the  eyes 
of  the  hunter  from  the  glare,  and  to  act  as  an  umbrella,  but  the  handy 
weaver,  having  first  scoured  the  earth  for  the  most  delicate  spruce 
root,  exhausts  her  artistic  skill  in  its  composition.  The  Tlinkit 
woman  and  the  Haida  woman  solve  the  problem  differently.  Given 
the  task  to  make  the  most  elegant  hat  that  can  be  done  in  spruce  root, 
the  Haida  artist  relies  upon  her  delicate  fingers  to  get  the  result. 
Twined  weaving  is  her  technic,  but  plain  and  twill  and  three-pl}T  are 
so  happily  blended  that  she  discards  color.  The  Tlinket,  just  a  whit 
less  refined  in  touch,  or  maybe  not  having  such  perfect  material, 
resorts  to  color.  The  designs  are  not  always  wrought,  but  are  fre 
quently  painted,  while  beard  of  seal,  abalone  shell,  and  beads  exhaust 
the  possibilities  of  decoration.  These  hats  are  made  for  men  as  well 
as  women.  Indeed,  the  finest  are  doubtless  made  for  men  to  wear  on 
the  chase,  Avith  the  conviction  that  a  hunter  must  not  only  do  his  best 
but  wear  his  best. 

The  use  of  the  basket  in  clothing  reaches  its  climax  in  the  California 
hats.  In  a  description  of  the  costume  worn  by  Hupa  Indians  in 

« John  Smith,  History  of  Virginia,  Richmond,  1819,  p.  185. 

&Otis  T.  Mason,  Primitive  Travel  and  Transportation,  Report  of  the  U.  S. 
National  Museum,  1894,  pp.  237-593. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  843 

northern  California  a  large  collection  of  designs  on  their  basket  hats 
are  shown  in  Plates  3,  4,  and  5  in  the  Ray  collection  from  the  Hupa 
Reservation, (t  and  on  Plate  6  of  the  same  paper  will  be  shown  the 
relation  of  basketry  to  foot  gear.  (See  Plate  88.) 

Excepting  the  head  gear  and  the  foot  gear,  the  American  Indian  in 
places  needed  protection  from  rain  and  cold.  The  robes  made  from  the 
tender  skins  of  rabbits  and  other  small  animals  by  cutting  them  into 
strips  and  making  them  into  blankets  by  twined  weaving  were  widely 
diffused  in  North  America  from  Virginia  to  the  Pacific.  Wherever 
the  tough  cedar  bark  abounded  soft  capes  and  robes  were  made  there 
from  by  the  same  women  who  made  the  baskets.  The  rain  cloaks  of 
middle  America,  if  they  are  not  of  oriental  origin,  are  knotted  and  do 
not  belong  to  basketry.  Other  basketry  dress  was  chiefly  ornamental. 
Leggings  reaching  to  the  knees  made  up  by  well-known  processes  are 
to  be  found.  A  great  deal  of  ceremonial  regalia,  even  that  from  buck 
skin,  is  put  together  by  basketmaker's  processes. 

IN  FINE  ART  AND  CULTURE 

Basketry  has  been  most  useful  as  the  patron  of  fine  art  and  culture. 
Like  all  other  human  activities,  it  passes  from  the  homely  useful  to  the 
useless  beautiful,  and  in  so  doing  combines  the  two  qualities  whose 
union  wras  long  ago  said  to  be  the  acme  of  excellence.  The  best  art 
critics  will  say  that  in  many  of  their  productions  the  American  Indian 
woman  had,  by  obeying  the  voices  within,  attained  a  high  degree  of 
excellence.  The  practice  of  this  superb  work,  and  the  admiration  of  it, 
elevated  her;  her  abject  state  is  not  her  fault. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  in  the  centuries  of  sorrow  men  have  suffered 
more  than  women,  since  all  their  old  occupations  in  which  they  excelled 
have  been  destro}7ed  and  hope  with  them;  but  the  pride  of  excellence 
remained  with  the  woman,  who  easily  surpassed  the  whites  in  the  work 
she  was  allowed  to  continue.  That  thousands  of  children  are  now 
being  taught  her  art  is  witness  of  this. 

Plate  89  shows  two  coiled  baskets  from  Tulare  County,  California, 
specimens  of  the  combined  art  of  three  or  four  well-known  basket- 
making  stocks  who  have  united  at  this  point — the  Shoshonean  from  the 
east,  the  Mission  Indians  from  the  south,  and  the  makers  of  coiled 
basketry  from  the  north.  In  the  upper  figure  the  basket  bowl  is  in 
open  sewing  over  a  grass  foundation,  with  ornamentation  in  plain 
vertical  stripes.  Every  item  of  form,  color,  and  design  in  this  speci-* 
men  has  in  it  the  true  element  of  art. 

The  lower  basket  is  jar-shaped,  in  closer  weaving  and  more  uniform 
in  texture,  but  its  design  is  especially  attractive.  The  base  is  a  rec 
tangular  outline,  but  the  pattern  is  made  up  of  hourglass  form 

«  Smithsonian  Report,  1886,  pp.  205-238. 


344  EEPOBT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

flanked  by  two  triangles.  The  body  color  is  that  of  the  material,  the 
hourglass  is  black,  and  the  triangles  in  reddish  brown.  Especial 
attention  is  called  to  this  figure,  it  occurs  many  times  in  the  basketry 
in  the  Merriam  collection.  It  is  also  seen  in  McLeod's  specimens  from 
the  Kern  County  tribes.  The  symbolism  is  not  known,  nor  is  there 
any  attempt  at  imitation  of  natural  objects  in  these  figures,  which  are 
natural  size  in  the  plate. 

Plate  90  shows  the  resources  of  the  western  California  tribes  of  Men- 
docino  County  for  heightening  the  beauty  of  ordinary  coiled  basketry. 
The  abalone  shell,  having  been  ground  away  from  the  back,  the  nacre 
ous  surface  becomes  one  of  the  most  beautiful  natural  objects.  The 
beadlike  ornamentation  around  the  edges  is  the  money  of  the  tribes, 
the  feathers  are  the  crests  of  the  partridge,  and  forming  the  body  of 
the  basket  the  plumage  of  various  species  of  birds  is  sewed  on  in 
bands.  These  objects,  of  course,  have  no  other  value  than  to  show 
the  taste  and  skill  of  the  maker,  and  they  are  chiefly  employed  in 
making  presents  to  friends,  who  are  expected  to  give  something  quite 
as  good  in  return. 

Emulation  in  aesthetic  ideals  and  technical  skill,  a  potent  factor  in 
education  and  refinement,  found  unrestrained  opportunity  in  basketry. 
It  is  doubtful  whether  potteiy  excelled  this  art  in  the  demand  for 
scrupulous  care  in  every  movement.  Many  of  the  best  pieces  in  Cali 
fornia  ware  are  marked  with  the  monogram  of  the  maker;  and  these 
special  marks  are  often  at  the  bottom  of  a  piece,  as  though  the  artist 
with  consciousness  of  excellence  had  felt  the  Horatian  thrill  when  the 
poet  wrote:  Sublimi  feriarn  sidera  vert  ice. 

A  sense  of  beauty  in  detail  was  the  motive  which  led  the  basket 
maker  to  search  the  fields  and  dig  into  the  earth  for  fiber.  It  edu 
cated  her  mind  and  sharpened  her  judgment.  In  order  to  secure  the 
plume  of  the  quail,  the  crest  of  the  woodpecker,  the  shoulder  tips  of 
the  blackbird,  the  mottled  feathers  of  the  duck,  and  more,  the  woman 
must  catch  her  birds.  So  she  becomes  an  inventor,  more  dangerous 
than  the  owl,  more  skillful  than  the  hawk,  more  subtle  than  the  ser 
pent.  At  first  the  inventions  were  crude  enough  but  effective  in 
damming  the  waters  and  barricading  the  air.  Ministering  to  these 
called  forth  a  new  grade  of  artificialities;  culture  grew  by  what  it  fed 
upon  until  it  is  not  possible  to  comprehend  in  one  grasp  the  multitude 
of  materials,  the  variety  of  technical  methods,  the  shapes,  the  designs 
and  their  meanings,  involved  in  what  one  forlorn  woman  had  to  master 
in  order  to  graduate  in  her  art. 

Dr.  Washington  Matthews"  figures  the  so-called  Navaho  basket 
plaque  as  a  drum,  and  says  that  the  art  of  basket  making  is  little  cul 
tivated  among  them  to-day,  because  it  was  neglected  through  the 
development  of  blanket  weaving.  The  material  is  the  twigs  of  the 

« American  Anthropologist,  VII,  1894,  pp.  202-208. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  345 

aromatic  sumac.  The  work  is  done  in  coiled  weaving.  The  founda 
tion  is  in  roots  of  the  same  material,  and  in  starting  the  basket  the 
butt  of  the  rod  is  placed  in  the  center,  the  tip  toward  the  periphery 
all  the  way  to  the  end  of  the  work  Around  the  middle  is  a  band  in 
red,  and  branching  from  this  band  outward  and  inward  triangles  in 
black.  The  band  is  not  continuous,  but  at  one  point  is  intersected  by 
a  narrow  line  of  a  colored  wood.  At  first  this  seemed  to  be  an  imita 
tion  of  the  Pueblo  "line  of  life"  on  pottery,  but  the  Navaho  line  is 
put  there  to  assist  in  the  orientation  of  the  basket  in  the  medicine 
lodge  when  the  light  is  dim.  In  playing  their  game  the  butts  and 
tips  of  the  Navaho  give  preference  to  the  butt  end  of  the  gambling 
stick,  associating  the  idea  with  that  of  the  position  of  the  warp  in  the 
coiled  basket.  When  the  basket  is  finished  the  butt  of  the  first  twig 
and  the  tip  of  the  last  twig  in  the  outer  edge  must  be  on  a  line  with 
this  radial  opening.  When  the  basket  is  used  in  ceremony  this 
line  must  lie  east  and  west.  The  stick  for  this  drum  is  made  from 
the  leaves  of  the  yucca  bent  together,  wrapped  and  sewed.  The 
dull  ghostly  sound  accords  well  with  the  other  portions  of  their 
ceremonies. 

IN  PREPARING  AND  SERVING  FOOD 

The  basket  is  closely  connected  with  the  Indian  kitchen  and  dining 
room,  if  these  terms  be  allowed.  After  the  purveyor  has  gleaned 
from  the  waters,  the  air,  the  range,  or  the  field,  with  appropriate 
devices,  and  the  patient  carrier  has  emptied  her  baskets  at  the  tent 
side,  and  forsooth  the  miller  has  put  through  their  exercises  quite 
another  series,  the  cook  and  caterer  take  up  the  burden.  She  is  gen 
erally  the  selfsame  woman  who  made  the  baskets  and  performed  the 
foreuamed  drudgeries.  But  she  is  prepared  for  this  task  as  well. 
There  is  first  of  all  the  mixing  bowl  or  basket,  about  the  shape  of  the 
bread  trays  in  millions  of  kitchens.  The  coiled  method  suits  the  pur 
pose,  especially  in  their  manufacture,  since  to  be  solid  and  water-tight 
are  desirable,  and  weight  is  not  an  objection;  yet  there  are  tribes  that 
make  excellent  mixing  bowls  in  twined  work.  (See  Plates  50,  53, 
92,  93.) 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  basketry  cooking  pots  are  placed  over 
a  fire,  as  one  of  metal.  Great  preparation  and  skill  are  necessary  to 
success.  The  basket  must  be  substantial  and  water-tight;  the  proper 
kinds  of  stones  must  be  selected  and  cleaned.  After  heating  to  a  high 
degree  they  must  be  dipped  into  water  to  reduce  the  heat.  A  red- 
hot  stone  would  spoil  the  broth,  sure  enough.  Tongs  of  wood  of  a 
certain  species  and  bent  just  so  must  be  made  ready,  and  paddles  for 
incessant  stirring. a 

a  For  illustrations  of  cooking  with  hot  stones  see  W.  H.  Holmes,  Report  of  the 
U.  S.  National  Museum,  1900,  pp.  170-173,  pis.  9-15. 


346  EEPOET    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

Plate  91  shows  two  of  the  best  examples  of  Klikitat  imbricated 
basketry.  The  foundation  is  seen  in  the  basket  exposed,  consisting 
of  a  bundle  of  rude  splints  of  cedar  root;  the  sewing-  is  with  prepared 
splints  of  the  same  material,  and  in  both  figures  it  will  be  seen  that 
no  ornamentation  ever  occurs  on  the  inside  of  this  type.  The  method 
of  laying  on  the  outer  ornamentation  has  already  been  explained  in 
the  earlier  part  of  this  paper. 

The  designs  are  made  up  of  rectangular  figures  in  the  grass  color 
for  the  body,  with  yellow  material  dyed  with  Oregon  grape,  cherry 
bark,  and  cedar  bark.  The  designs  represent  in  the  upper  figure 
geese  migrating;  the  lower,  some  species  of  swamp  plant. 

The  border  of  the  lower  figure  is  in  false  braid,  laid  on  the  upper 
row  of  sewing-.  The  stains  on  the  lower  basket  show  that  it  has  been 
used  in  gathering  berries  for  a  long  time;  the  upper  one  has  not  yet 
seen  use.  Both  of  them,  however,  are  vessels  for  gathering  and  cook 
ing  food. 

This  cooking  with  hot  stones  is  mentioned  by  man3r  older  writers, 
which  proves  that  it  was  not  an  innovation  with  the  discovery  of 
America.  After  the  cooking  of  the  food,  the  next  thing  was  the  serv 
ing  of  it,  for  which  purpose  there  were  a  number  of  forms  in  basketry 
for  holding  the  fish  or  mush  and  for  the  individual  eater. 

Plate  92  represents  a  collection  of  baskets  used  for  preparing  and 
serving  food.  The  lower  figure  is  a  cooking  basket  in  which  either 
mush  or  fish  can  be  prepared  to  eat  by  means  of  hot  stones.  Spoons 
are  made  from  the  horns  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  sheep  or  goats,  and 
may  be  used  for  the  individual  eater.  The  upper  basket  is  for  drain 
ing  food  or  for  holding  fish  or  some  hot  substance  and  allowing  the 
water  to  drain  off.  The  other  figure  shows  the  method  of  twined 
weaving  and  introducing  a  new  splint  into  the  texture. 

Plate  93  shows  two  of  the  meal  trays  of  the  Hopi  Indians  in  northern 
Arizona.  When  the  coils  are  left  open,  as  in  these  examples,  they  are 
said  to  have  been  made  by  an  unmarried  woman.  The  base  or  founda 
tion  of  the  coil  is  the  shreds  of  }Tucca  stems  and  the  sewing  is  done 
with  the  rib-like  strips  of  the  leaves.  The  colors  used  in  dyeing  are 
those  employed  also  by  the  weavers  in  the  same  region,  but  of  recent 
years  common  cheap  dyes  of  traders  have  taken  the  place  of  the  native 
colors.  The  mythology  of  the  figures  in  the  plaques  is  explained  on 
page  333. 

Plate  94,  from  a  photograph  by  G.  Wharton  James,  shows  a  young 
unmarried  woman  of  the  Oraibi  pueblo  preparing  the  corn  meal  for 
bread  making.  The  chimney  is  interesting  as  a  first  chapter  in  the 
history  of  draft.  Fire  is  built  in  the  corner  of  the  room  and  a  few 
adobe  bricks  supported  on  a  log  of  wood  form  the  flue.  A  few  pieces 
of  brick  on  the  upper  part  of  the  roof  continue  the  chimney.  Other 
utensils  common  in  the  pueblo  life  are  seen.  The  young  woman  wears 
her  hair  in  the  fashion  of  the  tribe. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  347 

IN  GLEANING  AND  MILLING 

Gleaning  or  harvesting,  storing  away,  and  milling,  what  a  vast 
number  of  men  are  nowadays  employed  in  them.  Women  are  not 
absent  from  them  altogether  in  the  United  States  and  nothing  is  more 
common  in  the  Eastern  Hemisphere  than  to  see  harvest  lields  and  all 
activities  associated  with  root  and  seed  gathering  thronged  with  them. 
The  industry  was  almost  solely  hers  in  America.  Baskets  are  named 
for  their  part  in  these  crafts.  There  are  picking  baskets,  root  baskets, 
berry  baskets,  and  on  to  the  list  of  acorns,  fruits,  seeds,  and  roots 
without  end.  Carrying  baskets  are  universal,  but  there  are  a  great 
many  of  them  used  by  this  set  of  workwomen,  and  it  will  be  found 
that  special  varieties  have  been  devised  for  these  pursuits. 

Also,  as  every  other  important  invention  calls  for  a  host  of  subsidiary 
devices,  there  must  be  wands  for  beating  off  seeds,  sieves  for  separat 
ing  grain  from  chaff,  fans  for  the  same  purpose,  roasting  trays  in 
which  the  raw  material  is  parched  before  grinding.  Brooms  are 
made  from  basket  fiber,  hoppers  for  the  top  of  the  millstone  also,  and 
the  open,  generous  bowls  to  hold  meal.  All  this  is  before  the  cooking 
processes  are  reached.  If  the  meal  is  not  to  be  used  up  at  once,  all  thrifty 
tribes  had  learned  to  store  up  vegetable  supplies  against  the  day  of 
need.  The  granary  basket  was  the  rival  of  the  pit  and  the  wooden 
crib.  There  must  have  been  something  refining  about  this  entire 
round  of  activities.  In  many  of  the  baskets  associated  with  them  the 
ornamentation  is  exquisite.  The  hunter  and  the  fisherman  had  scant 
encouragement  to  cultivate  the  aesthetic  sense  in  their  employments; 
but  nuts,  seeds,  grain,  most  fruits,  and  roots  are  clean.  Even  berries 
when  they  stain  do  not  soil  the  outer  part  of  the  receptacle,  so  the 
Fraser  River  tribes  adorn  the  upper  portion  of  the  baskets  with  beau 
tiful  patterns.  The  lower  part  is  left  plain.  The  use  of  baskets  in 
the  plant  quest  was  well-nigh  universal.  The  eastern  Indians  employed 
the  cane  or  split  ash  for  their  wicker  or  twilled  baskets.  As  far  as 
the  cane  extended,  even  to  Guiana  and  Brazil,  this  is  true.  The 
ingenious  cassava  strainer  belongs  to  this  class. 

Plate  95  shows  the  domestic  utensils  of  the  upper  Amazon  tribes  for 
various  household  purposes.  Palm  leaf,  out  of  which  fiber  is  made; 
the  fiber  itself,  used  in  various  forms  of  domestic  utensils;  baskets  in 
two  types,  twined  and  crossed  warp  weaving.  The  cassava  strainer  on 
the  left  is  in  twined  weaving,  so  that  when  the  weights  are  taxed  the 
bag  is  increased  in  size  and  the  water  forced  out  of  the  cassava.  The 
specimen  shown  was  collected  for  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  by  J.  B. 
Steere. 

Lewis  H.  Morgan  w rites  a  that  in  the  art  of  basket  work,  in  all  its 
varieties,  the  Iroquois  Indian  women  also  excel.  Their  baskets  are 

a  League  of  the  Iroquois,  1851,  p.  382,  showing  twined  baskets. 


348  KEPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

made  with  a  neatness,  ingenuity,  and  simplicity  which  deserve  the 
highest  praise.  Splint  is  the  chief  material,  but  they  likewise  use  a 
species  of  sweet  grass,  and  also  corn  husks.  Among  these  various 
patterns,  which  are  as  diversified  as  convenience  or  ingenuity  could 
suggest,  the  most  perfectly  finished  is  the  sieve  basket.  It  is  designed 
for  sifting  corn  meal,  to  remove  the  chit  and  coarse  particles  after  the 
corn  has  been  pounded  into  flour.  The  bottom  of  the  basket  is  woven 
in  such  fine  checks  that  it  answers  veiy  perfectly  all  the  ends  of  the 
wire  sieve.  Another  variety  of  baskets  was  made  of  corn  husks  and 
flags  veiy  closely  and  ingeniously  braided.  In  their  domestic  economy 
the  basket  answered  many  purposes.  Cat.  Nos.  221161-3,  U.S.N.M. 

From  the  historians  of  the  discovery  it  is  learned  that  basketry  was 
used  in  connection  with  the  gathering  and  preparing  of  food.  Bartram 
mentions  the  use  of  a  sieve  which  the  Indians  of  Georgia  have  for 
straining  a  "cooling  sort  of  jelly  called  conti,  made  by  pounding  cer 
tain  roots  in  a  mortar  and  adding  water/1  Dumont  describes  the  sieves 
and  winnowing  fans  of  the  Indians  of  Louisiana.  The  Indian  women, 
he  says,  make  fine  sieves  with  the  skin  which  they  take  off  of  the  canes; 
they  also  make  some  with  larger  holes,  which  serve  as  bolters,  and 
others  without  holes,  to  be  used  as  winnowing  fans.  They  also  make 
baskets  very  neatly  fashioned,  cradles  for  holding  maize.  By  compar 
ing  this  statement  with  what  is  said  about  the  California  gleaners  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  Louisiana  tribes  knew  how  to  sift  meal,  leaving 
the  coarse  particles  inside  the  sieve,  and  also  to  separate  seeds  from 
chaff,  and  finally  from  coarse  material,  by  beating  over  the  edge  of  a 
tightly  woven  basket. 

Du  Pratz  also  says  that  for 

sifting  the  flour  of  their  maiz,  and  for  other  uses,  the  natives  make  sieves  of  various 
finenesses  of  the  splits  of  cane. 

John  Smith,  speaking  of  the  Indians  of  Virginia,  says  they 
use  a  small  basket  for  their  Temmes,  then  pound  againe  the  great,  and  so  separating 
by  dashing  their  hand  in  the  basket,  receiue  the  flowr  in  a  platter  of  wood  scraped 
to  that  forme  with  burning  and  shels. 

Strachey  makes  the  following  statement: 

Their  old  wheat  they  firste  steepe  a  night  in  hot  water,  and  in  the  morning  pound 
ing  yt  in  a  morter,  they  use  a  small  baskett  for  the  boulter  or  seaver,  and  when  they 
have  syfted  fourth  the  finest,  they  pound  againe  the  great,  and  so  separating  yt  by 
dashing  their  hand  in  the  baskett,  receave  the  flower  in  a  platter  of  wood,  which, 
blending  with  water,  etc. 

There  are  no  gleaning  baskets  in  the  Arctic  and  few  in  northern 
Canada.  Birch,  elm,  and  pine  bark  usurp  the  place  of  textile  mate 
rials.  But  all  along  the  southern  border  there  were  gleaners  and  a 
variety  of  basket  forms  in  their  hands.  Maize,  wild  rice,  roots,  nuts, 
and  berries  were  food  staples.  Checker  matting,  wicker  basketry, 
and  twined  bagging  supplied  the  receptacles. 

For  the  basket  maker  there  are  four  Alaskas: — Athapascan,  and 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  349 

Eskimo,  where  there  is  no  gleaning  or  milling;  Aleutian,  in  which 
the  harvests  come  from  the  sea,  and  the  daintiest  of  twined  weaving  is 
made  in  grass  stems;  and  southeastern  Alaska,  which  shall  receive  fur 
ther  notice.  Storage  baskets  are  attributed  to  them  by  early  voya 
gers.  Nowadays  the  ware  is  small,  no  piece  exceeding  half  a  bushel  in 
capacity.  Since  seafaring  is  mixed  with  hunting  and  gleaning  the 
fields,  the  gathering  basket  leads  a  busy  life.  Plates  136-149  represent 
the  types,  which,  large  and  small,  are  chiefly  cylindrical  in  shape.  The 
methods  of  manufacture  and  decoration  have  been  described. 

In  Gerstaecker's  Journal  is  the  following  account  of  seed  gatherers 
in  California: 

While  I  was  standing  there  a  couple  of  pretty,  young  girls  came  from  the  woods 
with  flat  baskets  full  of  flower  seed  emitting  a  peculiar  fragrance,  which  they  also 
prepared  for  eating.  They  put  some  live  coals  among  the  seed,  and,  swinging  it  and 
throwing  it  together  to  shake  the  coals  and  the  seed  well  and  bring  them  to  contin 
ual  and  close  contact  without  burning  the  latter,  they  roasted  it  completely,  and  the 
mixture  smelled  so  beautiful  and  refreshing  that  I  tasted  a  good  handful  of  it,  and 
found  it  most  excellent  (p.  375). 

Edwin  Bryant,  in  his  Rocky  Mountain  Adventures,  gives  this 
description  of  the  acorn  harvest: 

We  soon  learned  from  them  that  they  were  a  party  engaged  in  gathering  acorns, 
which  to  these  poor  Indians  are  what  wheat  and  maize  are  to  us.  They  showed  us 
large  quantities  in  their  baskets  under  the  trees.  When  dried  and  pulverized,  the 
flour  of  the  acorn  is  made  into  bread  or  mush,  and  is  their  "staff  of  life."  It  is 
their  chief  article  of  subsistence  in  this  section  of  California.  Their  luxuries,  such 
as  bull  beef  and  horse  meat,  they  obtain  by  theft,  or  pay  for  in  labor  at  exorbitant 
rates.  The  acorn  of  California,  from  the  evergreen  oak  (Quercus  ilex),  is  much 
larger,  more  oily,  and  less  bitter  than  on  the  Atlantic  side  of  the  continent.  In 
fruitful  seasons  the  ground  beneath  the  trees  is  covered  with  nuts,  and  the  Indians 
have  the  providence,  when  the  produce  of  the  oak  is  thus  plentiful,  to  provide 
against  a  short  crop  and  the  famine  which  must  necessarily  result  to  them  from  it  by 
laying  up  a  supply  greater  than  they  will  consume  in  one  year  (p.  240) . 

The  Hupa  Indians  for  collecting  seeds,  according  to  Prof.  P.  E. 
Goddard,  use  the  basket  in  the  shape  of  a  common  burden  basket  in 
closely  woven>style.a  They  also  made  large  storage  baskets  of  close- 
twined  work  called  djelo,  the  base  being  of  greater  diameter  than  the 
top.a 

Plate  96  represents  the  harvesting  outfit  of  the  Hupa  Indians  on 
Hupa  Reservation  in  northwestern  California.  There  is  the  open 
work-twined  basket  for  picking  the  seeds,  the  carrying  basket  in 
openwork  with  a  decorated  band  at  the  top  for  bearing  the  crop  home, 
the  granary  basket,  which  bears  significantly  on  the  outside  the  image 
of  destructive  worms  that  eat  the  crop  after  it  is  harvested.  The 
woman's  head  has  a  pad  of  soft-twined  work  on  the  forehead,  across 
which  the  buckskin  band  of  the  carrying  basket  rests.  The  outfit  of 

«Life  and  Culture  of  the  Hupas.  Publications  of  the  University  of  California.  I, 
1902,  pi.  xxii,  fig.  2. 


350  EEPOET    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

the  mill  consists  of  a  large  basket  at  the  bottom  for  catching  the  acorn 
meal  and  millstone  set  in  this  for  grinding,  a  hopper  basket,  most 
elaborately  made,  resting  on  the  rock  to  hold  the  acorns  that  are  being 
ground.  A  similar  hopper  is  shown  below,  both  in  its  form  and  struc 
ture.  The  pestle  for  grinding  the  acorns  and  the  broom  for  sweeping 
up  the  meal  complete  the  paraphernalia.  Throughout  the  entire  acorn 
area  implements  resembling  these  will  be  found. 

The  outfit  for  the  Porno  acorn  mush  maker  in  Mendocino  County, 
California,  is  illustrated  by  V.  K.  Chesnuta  in  his  paper  on  Plants 
Used  by  the  Indians  of  Mendocino  County,  California  (fig.  71  and 
Plates  13,  18),  issued  in  1902,  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture, 
Washington. 

It  consists  of  eleven  pieces:  The  picking  basket  for  the  individual 
gatherer;  the  holding  basket  for  receiving  the  contents  of  number 
one;  the  cone-shaped  carrying  basket,  with  headband;  the  granary 
basket  at  the  home,  holding  two  or  more  bushels,  many  of  them  have 
beautiful  covers;  the  basket  hopper,  open  at  the  bottom  to  fit  on  the 
mortar  stone,  the  work  of  strengthening  these  tax  the  ingenuity  of 
the  weaver;  the  mat  for  the  meal  to  be  placed  under  the  millstone;  the 
sifting  plaques,  in  openwork  for  coarse  separating  and  tightly  woven, 
for  shaking  the  waste  over  the  edge;  the  cooking  pot  of  the  closest 
weaving;  the  dipper;  the  eating  bowls,  and  the  daintily  woven  basket 
hat. 

William  H.  Holmes  illustrates  at  length  the  acorn  harvesting  and 
milling  industry  in  northern  California,  carrying  and  hulling  the  nuts, 
pounding  them  in  stone  mortars,  grinding  the  meal,  separating  the 
coarse  particles,  cleaning  the  meal  by  shaking  and  blowing,  leaching 
in  sand  and  using  hot  stones  for  cooking  in  basket  pots.& 

Plate  97  is  a  group  of  baskets  in  plain-twined  weaving  (Banitush) 
in  the  collection  of  C.  P.  Wilcomb,  of  San  Francisco.  It  consists 
of  a  conical  carrying  basket,  mill  hopper,  granary  basket,  and  mush 
bowl.  The  carrying  basket  is  in  plain-twined  work  throughout.  Even 
the  narrow  bands  near  the  top  are  no  exception,  for  though  each 
twist  in  the  twine  passes  over  two  warp  stems,  on  the  next  round  the 
same  two  are  included  in  the  twist  above.  Casting  the  eye  upward  will 
show  that  in  the  upper  band  next  to  the  border  the  same  motive  occurs, 
but  the  same  pairs  of  stems  are  not  inclosed  in  the  twist.  The  effect 
of  this  ornament  is  quite  pleasing,  as  the  two  bands  with  intervening 
space  form  an  endless  zigzag  pattern.  The  border  of  this  basket  is 
formed  by  bending  the  warp  stems  down  as  the  foundation  of  a  coiled 
work  which  is  strengthened  by  a  hoop  of  wood.  The  bands  of  orna 
mentation  on  this  and  the  other  baskets  in  this  group  is  explained 
under  "Symbolism." 

«  Contributions  to  the  National  Herbarium,  VII,  pp.  295-408. 
&Keport  of  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1900,  pis.  10-15  and  22. 


'•r  THE 
ABOKIGINAL    AMEjtfo&Ifc  .J^fg&flKt.  /  351 

OF 

The  mill  hopper  is  also  in  plain-twined -weaving,  strengthened  with 
three  narrow  bands  of  tee  weaving.  The  granary  basket  and  the  mush 
bowl  are  noteworthy  especially  on  account  of  the  peculiar  method  of 
finishing  the  work  by  merely  cutting  off  the  warp  stems. 

Plate  98  represents  two  specimens  in  the  collection  of  C.  P.  Wilcomb, 
both  of  them  fromTulare  County,  California.  The  upper  figure  is  a  bowl 
connected  with  body  in  twined  weaving.  The  diameter  is  14f  inches. 
The  ornamentation  is  in  four  bands,  the  lower  broken,  the  second  in 
chevron  pattern,  the  third  human  figures,  the  fourth  the  standard  hour 
glass  pattern.  On  the  margin  are  spots  in  black  material  in  groups  of 
fours.  The  lower  figure  represents  a  typical  mortar  stone  with  pestle 
and  hopper,  in  this  case  glued  to  the  upper  surface  of  the  millstone. 
The  ornamentation  on  the  upper  is  also  the  standard  band  of  hexagonal 
figures. 

Plate  99  represents  a  Yokut  woman  on  the  Tule  River  Reservation 
shaking  acorn  meal  and  sifting  it  for  making  mush. 

In  Plate  100,  the  same  collection,  is  represented  a  Havasupai  (Yuman) 
Indian  woman  screening  corn  in  a  roasting  basket  with  hot  stones  and 
blowing  out  the  chaff,  using  the  specimen  both  for  parching  and  clean 
ing  the  seeds. 

Plate  101  shows  a  Coahuilla  (Shoshonean)  woman  grinding  acorn 
flour  on  a  mortar  stone,  on  the  top  of  which  has  been  cemented  a  hop 
per  basket  with  open  bottom.  This  method  of  grinding  is  extremely 
old,  inasmuch  as  some  of  the  pieces  of  ancient  baskets  in  prehistoric 
graves,  found  by  Mr.  Pepper  and  others,  are  in  this  type  and  stitch 
of  basketry. 

Speaking  of  the  Apache  Indians  and  others  farther  south,  Capt.  John 
G.  Bourke  mentions  their  fanning  trays  for  grinding  the  seeds  of  grasses. 
Hot  stones  are  placed  in  them,  with  the  coarse  material  and  the  chaff  is 
burned  out.  The  Captain  also  mentions  that  the  trays  are  wet  to  keep 
them  from  burning.  This  can  not  be  a  universal  practice,  because  in 
some  of  the  specimens  in  the  Museum  the  texture  is  very  much  charred. 

Plate  102  shows  the  most  primitive  form  of  storage,  holding  several 
bushels,  used  by  the  Mohave  Indians  in  the  desert  between  Mexico 
and  southern  Arizona.  It  resembles  more  a  bird's  nest  than  a  textile 
preparation.  The  specimen  is  in  the  Field  Columbian  Museum,  Chi 
cago,  and  to  the  courtesy  of  C.  L.  Owen  and  G.  C.  Simnis  I  am 
indebted  for  the  photograph. 

The  Mohave  and  other  tribes  have  curious  granaries  for  storing 
mesquite  beans,  corn,  etc.,  near  their  houses.  A  platform  is  con 
structed  on  high  poles;  upon  this  is  placed  a  round,  bottomless  basket 
from  3  to  5  feet  in  diameter  and  2  to  3  feet  deep.  These  are  made 
of  arrow- weed  stalks  tightly  interwoven.  When  filled  the  top  is 
sealed  with  mud  to  keep  out  rain.  In  specimens  examined  by  Owen 


352  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

and  Simms,  of  the  Field  Columbian  Museum,  several  of  these  nest-like 
baskets  were  clustered  on  the  same  platform  and  a  rude  fence  served 
for  inclosure.a 

IN  HOUSE  BUILDING  AND  FUENITURE 

House  and  furniture  were  here  and  there  constructed  of  basket 
work,  so  the  basket  maker  became  architect  and  cabinetmaker.  Of  the 
former,  the  w^all  may  have  been  constructed  like  a  huge,  coarse  basket, 
with  upright  stakes  for  warp  and  brush,  canes,  rushes,  or  leaves  of 
palm  for  weft.  The  roof,  also,  especially  in  its  framework,  was  in  some 
tribes  an  immense  shallow  basket  bottom  inverted.  The  rafters  were 
the  parallel  or  radiating  warp  and  the  interlacing  vines  the  openwork 
woof  into  which  many  kinds  of  thatch  were  fitted. 

Accessory  to  the  house,  whether  a  woven  structure  or  not,  were 
fences,  awnings,  screens,  and  shelters.  They  were  woven  after  the 
fashion  of  the  walls.  In  middle  America  and  the  tropical  portions  of 
South  America,  but  far  more  skillfully  in  the  Philippine  Islands  and 
all  about  the  Indo-Pacific,  the  mat  and  light  basketiy  serve  for  seclu 
sion  and  decoration  among  the  houses.  Open  checkerwork,  twilled 
weaving,  wattling,  or  twined  textile  are  as  effective  as  they  are  light 
and  easily  put  together.  When  they  were  moving  about,  or  in  situa 
tions  where  a  compact  dwelling  would  have  been  burdensome,  it  was 
an  affair  of  only  a  few  moments  to  imitate  the  nest-building  birds  and 
throw  together  a  wickiup  or  leaf  shelter  of  some  kind. 

The  winter  houses  of  the  Porno  Indians  were  a  rude  kind  of  feath 
ered  basketry.  They  are  described  by  Carl  Purdy  b  as  domes  of  wicker- 
work,  thatched  heavily  with  grass  or  tules  (p.  443,  with  illustration). 
The  summer  houses  were  of  wickerwork  covered  with  boughs,  and 
the  tribe  moved  several  times  a  year  as  acorns,  fish,  game,  or  dry 
quarters  were  desirable.  They  solved  the  problems  of  transportation 
by  moving  themselves  about. 

Furniture  had  not  the  pretentious  meaning  that  it  possesses  in  civ 
ilization.  The  bed  for  the  Indians  was  the  most  desirable  luxury. 
Their  chairs  were  mats  of  many  styles  of  weaving  and  man}^  colors. 
All  of  them  were  plicated  by  hand  and  were  the  production  of  the 
basket  maker. 

But  the  bed  was  not  always  a  basket.  In  the  North  it  was  the 
warmest  fur  and  robes;  in  many  tribes  the  mat  took  the  place  of  the 
robe,  and  over  a  wide  area  the  hammock  was  chair  by  day  and  bed  at 
night.  In  some  of  these  the  twine  is  knotted  or  netted  and  the  ham 
mock  is  in  no  sense  a  basket.  Throughout  the  Southwest  a  resting 
device  is  formed  by  the  very  ancient  basket-makers'  process  of  string 
ing  a  number  of  stiff  rods  together  by  three  or  more  rows  of  weaving. 
(For  a  Hopi  bridal  costume  case  see  Plate  103.) 

«For  illustration  see  Newton  H.  Chittenden,  Land  of  Sunshine,  1901,  p.  202. 
&Land  of  Sunshine,  XV,  May,  1901. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  353 


IN  MORTUARY  CUSTOMS 

The  basket  is  intimately  associated  with  Indian  life  in  the  "  last  act." 
Not  only  fabrics  woven  in  basketry  technic  were  wrapped  about  the 
dead  and  used  to  protect  the  body,  but  on  the  sentimental  side  exam 
ples  of  the  finest  workmanship  were  either  deposited  or  burned  with 
their  makers.  Plate  104  is  taken  from  Pepper's  account  of  the  basket- 
making  Indians  of  Utah,  and  is  interesting  as  exhibiting  the  method  of 
burial  among  the  ancient  tribe  of  southeastern  Utah  in  the  canyon 
country.  These  old  people  must  have  lived  long  in  these  curious 
retreats,  for  on  top  of  their  graves  are  found  deposits  made  by  later 
tribes.  The  corpse  was  placed  in  the  hollow  of  a  rock,  covered  with  a 
rabbit-skin  robe  made  in  twined  weaving.  On  top  of  all  was  turned 
upside  down  a  coiled  basket.  The  plate  shows  the  method  of  admin 
istering  the  blanket  and  the  basket,  and  the  lower  figure  of  the  plate 
declares  the  type  and  style  of  weaving  used  by  these  ancient  basket 
makers.  The  foundation  is  of  three-rod  type.  The  four  figures  on 
the  surface  near  the  margin  are  like  the  butterfly  design  seen  on  some 
modern  ware,  but  the  symbol  is  not  known.  Horatio  N.  Rust  tells  of 
a  young  Indian  girl  who  was  dying  of  consumption.  She  wore  on  her 
person  a  small  basket  of  beautiful  workmanship  and  gave  it  to  a  young 
American,  begging  him  to  have  her  buried  in  a  coffin  and  the  little 
basket  placed  within. 

Another  Indian,  Roherio  by  name,  living  in  the  southern  California 
country,  tells  of  his  wife,  who,  when  dying,  called  him  to  her  and  said: 
Take  my  basket  cap,  which  I  have  always  worn  since  I  have  been 
your  wife,  and  burn  it,  with  everything  that  is  mine.  He  obeyed  her 
and  burned  two  trunks  full  of  personal  property. 

Clarence  King  describes  vividly,  in  his  Mountaineering  in  the  Sierra 
Nevadas,  a  cremation  scene: 

In  the  opening  between  the  line  of  huts  a  low  pile  of  dry  logs  had  been  carefully 
laid,  upon  which,  outstretched  and  wrapped  in  her  blanket,  lay  the  dead  form  of 
"Sally,"  the  old  basket  maker,  her  face  covered  in  careful  folds.  Upon  her  heart 
were  the  grass-woven  water  bowl  and  her  latest  papoose  basket.  The  flames  slowly 
lapped  over,  consuming  the  blanket,  and  caught  the  willow  papoose  basket.  When 
the  husband  saw  this  the  tears  streamed  from  his  eyes;  he  lifted  his  hands  elo 
quently,  looking  up  at  the  sky  and  uttering  heartbroken  sobs.  All  of  the  Indians 
intoned  in  pathetic  measure,  "  Himalaya,  Himalaya,"  looking  first  at  the  mound  of 
fire  and  then  out  upon  the  fading  sunset. 

The  desert  region  of  Peru  was  favorable  to  the  preservation  of 
delicate  textiles,  and  it  is  in  the  cemeteries  of  this  region  that  large 
quantities  of  basketry  in  every  style  of  weaving  here  described  have 
been  found. a  (For  lace  work  see  Plate  105.) 

«For  basketry  (coiled  and  twined)  from  graves  in  Peru,  see  Eleventh  Annual 
Report  of  the  Peabody  Museum,  pp.  280-292. 

NAT   MUS    1902 23 


354  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

IN  RELATION  TO  THE  POTTER'S  ART 

Pottery  and  basketry  were  in  America,  especially  among  the  savage 
tribes,  both  the  work  of  women.  Before  answering  the  question  how 
far  one  art  was  useful  to  the  other,  attention  must  be  called  to  the  fact 
that  in  eastern  United  States  both  prevailed  almost  universally.  In 
the  Arctic,  excepting  the  rude  pottery  of  Alaska  on  Bering  Sea,  and 
on  the  Pacific  from  Mount  St.  Elias  to  Santa  Barbara  Islands,  the 
tribes  made  only  basketry.  Those  of  the  interior  basin  and  all  south 
ward  were  expert  in  both. 

It  was  formerly  believed  that  in  the  eastern  division  of  the  United 
States,  especially,  pottery  was  made  to  a  large  extent  in  basketry. 
Eminent  students  held  this  opinion  and  there  seemed  to  be  abundant 
evidence  of  its  truth.  Gushing  figures  a  basket  with  clay  inside  to 
protect  the  former  in  the  cooking  of  seeds  and  grains." 

Holmes  now  believes  that  the  extent  to  which  good  baskets  were 
used  for  modeling  pottery  in  this  province  has  been  greatly  overesti 
mated.  There  are  innumerable  examples  of  basketry  and  other  textile 
markings  on  earthenware,  and  he  divides  them  into  five  classes. 

1.  Impressions  from  the  surface  of  rigid  textile  forms. 

2.  Impressions  from  cloth  and  nets. 

3.  From  woven  textures  used  over  the  hand  or  modeling  implement. 

4.  From  cords  wrapped  about  modeling  paddles  or  rocking  tools. 

5.  Impressions  of  bits  of  cords  or  other  textile  units,  singly  or  in 
groups,   applied  for  ornament  only  and  so  arranged  as  to  produce 
textile-like  patterns. 

In  modeling  a  clay  vessel  a  basket  might  be  used  as  a  support  and 
pivot.  It  might  assist  in  shaping  the  bodies  of  vessels,  assuming  to  a 
limited  extent  the  limits  of  a  mold.  Also,  the  mat  upon  which  a 
plastic  form  rests  will  leave  impressions  that  firing  will  render  indel 
ible.  The  tribes  of  the  Pima  linguistic  family  produce  jars  and  baskets 
of  the  same  shape;  but  if  a  row  of  Zuni  or  the  Hopi  pottery  be  compared 
with  a  row  of  their  basketry  they  would  not  suggest  that  either  one 
was  the  predecessor  and  occasion  of  the  other.  Laying  aside  the 
inquiry  whether  the  basket  was  the  progenitor  of  the  pot,  inasmuch  as 
the  same  hands  often  produced  both,  the  former  unwittingly  rendered 
itself  immortal  by  its  many  little  helpful  attentions  to  the  latter  in  its 
formative  stage.  The  pot  was  afterwards  fired  and  worn  out  and 
broken  into  fragments  that  were  buried  out  of  sight.  In  these  last 
years  the  archeologist  exhumes  the  shards,  washes  them  carefully,  and 
makes  casts  of  their  surfaces  in  plaster  or  artist's  clay.  A  glance 
shows  that,  though  the  surfaces  of  the  shards  are  much  worn  awa}r  by 
time,  the  lines  in  the  little  cavities  are  as  sharp  as  when  the  clay  and 

«  William  H.  Holmes:  American  Anthropologist  (N.  S.),  Ill,  pp.  397-403;  also 
F.  H.  Gushing,  Fourth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  1886,  pp.  483-493. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  355 

the  basket  made  each  other's  acquaintance  centuries  ago.     (See  Plates 
106,  107.) 

In  the  shards  examined  by  Eggers  and  Holmes  one  fact  is  preserved 
that  no  historian  recounts,  namely,  that  twined  basketry  as  varied  and 
beautiful  as  that  of  the  Aleutian  Islanders  was  made  by  the  tribes  in 
the  Mississippi  Valley  before  the  fifteenth  century. 

AS  A  KECEPTACLE 

Very  few  of  the  Indian  tribes  of  America  were  so  unsettled  in  life 
as  to  be  without  a  home.  About  such  a  place  accumulated  personal 
property  and  provisions  for  the  future,  large  and  small.  On  the  Great 
Plains  of  the  West,  receptacles  were  made  of  rawhide  gaudily  painted. 
On  the  MacKenzie  drainage,  bark  of  the  white  birch  was  the  material, 
decorated  with  quills  of  the  porcupine  dyed  in  many  colors.  But  for 
holding  the  bone  awl  and  the  sinew  thread,  the  trinkets  belonging  to 
dress,  the  outfits  of  fisherman  and  hunter,  the  basket  and  the  wallet  were 
well-nigh  universal.  In  the  industries  and  other  activities  of  life  in 
which  materials,  utensils,  apparatus,  in  a  word,  things  were  involved, 
there  were  receptacles  for  holding  them.  The  basket  maker  herself' 
has  a  kit  of  appliances  for  making  her  wares. 

One  of  the  primary  functions  of  basketry,  if  not  the  very  first,  was 
to  contain  or  restrain  something.  The  weir,  fence,  wing  of  the  game 
drive,  wall  of  the  house,  besides  many  smaller  objects  of  the  coarsest 
weave  were  invented  long  before  basketry  became  cooking  utensils  or 
works  of  ceremony.  The  myriads  of  Indian  baskets  sold  at  railroad 
stations  and  summer  resorts  have  gone  back  to  first  principles  and  arc 
made  for  the  sole  purpose  of  holding. 

In  the  north  the  small  tools  of  the  fur  worker  and  trinkets  are 
easily  lost  in  the  snow.  The  workbasket  or  something  in  its  stead  is 
universal.  About  Point  Barrow  the  Tinne  (Athapascan)  Indians  make 
coiled  baskets  in  several  styles  of  weaving.  These  are  traded  to  the 
Eskimo.  On  the  Bering  seacoast  of  Alaska  rougher  trinket  cases 
appear.  The  Attu  makers  of  dainty  wallets  in  grass,  living  away  out 
on  the  Aleutian  chain,  are  quite  as  skillful  in  the  manufacture  of  cigar 
cases,  which,  by  the  way,  are  nothing  more  than  two  of  their  old-fash 
ioned  cylinders  fitted  one  into  the  other  and  flattened.  Receptacles  of 
basket  wood,  with  no  other  function  than  just  to  hold  things,  are  to  be 
found  in  all  the  areas  of  the  Western  Hemisphere,  in  all  sizes  from 
the  granary  down  to  the  sheath  for  an  awl,  in  every  one  of  the  tech 
nical  processes  and  in  every  degree  of  fineness.  It  is  the  one  function 
of  universal  application. 

Plate  108  is  an  ammunition  holder  in  twined  basketry  from  the 
Tlinkit  Indians  of  Sitka,  Alaska.  It  is  ornamented  by  false  embroid 
ery.  The  interesting  fact  concerning  this  specimen  is  that  as  soon  as 
these  Indians  came  in  contact  with  the  Russians  they  began  to  imitate 


356  EEPOKT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

modern  forms  of  apparatus  in  textile  material.  This  telescope  basket 
was  used  by  the  owner  for  holding  caps,  bullets,  or  other  delicate  objects 
for  hunting'.  It  also  shows  that  the  acculturation  of  form  did  not  begin 
recently,  but  took  place  as  soon  as  the  Indian  woman's  eye  rested 
upon  some  novel  and  attractive  form.  This  specimen  is  Catalogue  No. 
1156  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  and  was  collected  by  James  G. 
Swan. 

Plate  109  represents  a  woman's  workbasket  of  the  Tlinkit  Indians, 
of  southeastern  Indians,  in  twined  weaving,  ornamented  in  false 
embroidery.  Doubtless  the  form  is  derived  from  Russian  motives, 
but  it  is  extremely  common  among  the  Indians  in  this  locality  and  is 
useful  in  a  thousand  wa}^s  for  holding  material.  This  specimen  was 
collected  in  Sitka,  Alaska,  by  J.  J.  McLean. 

The  Eraser  River  tribes  in  British  Columbia  illustrate  also  what  is 
said  about  the  power  of  suggestion  in  modifying  form,  and  even 
structure,  in  an  art.  The  bulk  of  their  stalwart  baskets  are  made  for 
cooking  and  harvesting  apparatus.  But  where  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company's  and  Malayo-Pacific  packages  came  into  view,  another  class 
of  baskets  appeared,  fashioned  in  their  shapes  and  ornamented  over 
their  entire  surfaces.  (See  Plates  43  and  44.) 

IN  RELIGION 

The  one  who  carried  the  sacred  basket  in  the  Greek  religious  pro 
cessions  was  called  the  Kanephoros,  and  it  will  be  remembered  that  in 
the  consecration  of  Aaron  and  his  family  to  the  priesthood,  among  the 
multitude  of  paraphernalia  was  the  basket  of  shew  bread. a 

In  one  tribe,  at  least,  of  American  aborigines — the  Hopi  of  north 
eastern  Arizona- — bread  consecrated  to  the  service  of  religion  is  set 
before  the  altar  in  beautiful  plaques  of  coiled  and  wicker  basketry,  on 
which  the  emblems  of  religion  are  wrought  in  colors. 

By  religion  is  meant  beliefs  about  a  spirit  world,  with  all  its  inhab 
itants  and  their  relations  with  mankind;  this  is  creed,  and  cult,  or 
worship.  "  The  best  for  the  gods  "  is  the  talisman  in  the  rudest  faiths 
as  in  the  highest.  So  it  will  be  found  that  basketry  devoted  to  religion 
is  worthy  of  its  object. 

In  the  autumn,  during  the  months  of  September  and  October,  the 
Hopi  Indians  of  northeastern  Arizona  celebrate  their  basket  dances. 
They  have  been  studied  by  Dr.  J.  Walter  Eewkes  and  J.  G.  Owen. 
The  basket  dance  is  a  public  exhibition,  closing  a  series  of  secret  rites, 
the  whole  festival  being  called  Lalakonti.  It  is  rather  a  posturing  of 
the  body  in  rhythm,  together  with  songs,  during  which  baskets  are 
carried  by  women  or  thrown  as  gifts  among  the  assembled  spectators. 

Those  taking  part  in  these  dances  are  in  two  groups — the  basket 


"Leviticus,  viii,  2. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  357 

bearers,  or  chorus,  and  the  basket  throwers,  or  Lakone  manas.  The 
only  man  participating  is  a  priest  called  the  Lakone  tal:a. 

The  costumes  of  the  participants,  the  method  of  holding'  and  throw 
ing  the  baskets,  and  the  struggles  of  the  men  for  the  specimens  are 
all  carefully  described  by  Dr.  Fewkes.a 

In  archaeological  studies  at  the  Chevlon  ruins,  about  15  miles  east 
of  Winslow,  Arizona,  a  large  amount  of  basketry  was  found  in  the 
graves.  Much  of  it  had  the  form  of  plaques  like  those  still  used  in 
Oraibi  and  the  Middle  Mesa.  The  inhabitants  of  the  old  pueblos  at 
Chaves  Pass  were  also  clever  basket  makers,  and  had  the  same  beliefs 
as  their  descendants  concerning  the  kinship  and  close  relationships  of 
life  between  spirit  beings  and  men. 

With  reference  to  these  basket  dances,  Dr.  Hough  says  the  baskets 
used  are  shallow,  circular  trays,  either  coiled  or  wicker,  invariably  of 
Hopi  manufacture  and  all  decorated  in  colors.  The  designs  on  the 
Lalakonti  baskets  are  various,  and  there  seems  to  be  a  greater  use  of 
symbolic  figures  than  in  those  specimens  commonly  offered  for  sale. 
In  some  examples  the  designs  are  conventionalized  merely  to  the 
extent  of  adapting  them  to  the  field  of  the  basket  and  the  exigencies 
of  the  weaving.  In  most  cases,  however,  the  design  is  in  the  last 
stages  of  convention  and  the  original  motive  is  lost. 

Plate  1.10  shows  the  portion  of  the  Hopi  Lalakonti  ceremony  in 
which  the  baskets  are  introduced  by  the  young  women. 

The  uses  of  baskets  of  the  plaque  type  by  the  Moki  may  throw  light 
on  the  reason  for  their  occurrence  in  the  u basket  dances."  In  the 
household  these  plaques  are  devoted  to  various  purposes;  ground 
meal  is  heaped  upon  them  in  high  cones  by  the  grinders,  or  dry  food, 
such  as  piki  bread  or  dried  peaches,  is  served  in  them.  A  basket  being 
difficult  and  laborious  in  construction  and  high  priced,  besides  being 
easily  soiled  and  unsuitable  for  the  uses  to  which  pottery  is  put,  is 
employed  in  cases  of  nicety,  or,  one  might  say,  of  luxury.  Whenever 
presents  are  exchanged  it  is  proper  to  carry  them  on  basket  trays. 

Baskets  form  an  important  part  of  the  paraphernalia  of  the  religious 
fraternities,  being  used  to  at  least  as  great  an  extent  as  pottery  for 
containing  sacred  meal,  the  prayer-stick  offerings,  etc.  Usually  new 
plaques  are  prepared  for  sacred  use  upon  the  altars  and  in  the  service 
of  the  fraternities,  notably  the  Lalakonti.  It  may  be  found  that 
plaques  are  almost  entirely  of  ceremonial  import. 

Sometimes  baskets  are  placed  on  the  walls  of  rooms  as  a  decoration. 
This  was  observed  at  Sichomovi,  where  a  frieze  of  Cohonino  baskets 
decorated  a  room  in  the  house  of  Wa  lu  tha  ma. 

The  use  of  baskets  in  religious  ceremonies  by  the  Navaho  Indians 
is  described  in  Dr.  Matthews' s  paper,  The  Mountain  Chant,  a  Navaho 

« J.  Walter  Fewkes,  Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore,  XII,  1899,  pp.  81  and  96. 


358 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 


Ceremony.  (See  page  515.)  Among  the  Yaquis  of  northern  Mexico 
baskets  are  used  for  holding  palms,  which  they  use  in  their  sacred 
ceremonies.  The,  Hupa  Indians,  on  the  Hupa  Reservation,  in  one  of 
their  dances  hold  baskets  in  their  hands,  examples  of  which  were 


FIG.  109. 

CEREMONIAL  BASKET. 

Hupa  Indians,  California. 

Collected  by  P.  H.  Ray. 

collected  by  Captain  Ray,  of  the  U.  S.  Army,  and  illustrated  in  the 
Smithsonian  Report  for  1880,  Plate  XI,  rig.  -15.     (See  rig.  109.) 

Prof.  P.  E.  Goddard"  describes  the  use  of  this  basket  in  the 
ceremony.  (See  Plate  111). 

IN  SOCIAL  LIFE 

Baskets  played  a  role  in  the  etiquette  of  the  Indians.  The  Choc- 
taws,  in  sending  a  gift  of  fruit,  use  a  heart-shaped  basket  to  convey 
a  sentiment  of  sincerity.  (See  Plate  181:.)  The  wedding  basket  of 
the  Pornos  is  an  exquisite  production  in  twined  weaving.  During  a 
marriage  festivity  the  bride's  mother  presents  her  son-in-law  with  a 
large,  handsome  basket,  which  he  must  immediately  fill  with  cakes  and 
pine  sugar  for  the  guests.  It  is  thereafter  known  as  chi-mo  pi-ka,  or 
dowry.  On  such  occasions  the  artist  is  incited  by  a  combination  of 
powerful  motives  to  do  her  best.  Among  the  same  Indians  the  gift 
basket,  presented  by  the  maker  as  a  token  of  friendship,  is  a  master 
piece  not  only  in  fineness,  but  in  the  exquisite  sentiments  of  its  design. 
In  the  National  Museum  are  good  examples  both  of  the  wedding  and 
of  the  gift  baskets.  (See  Plates  112-114:.) 

The  Gualala  style  of  gambling,  says  Powers,  prevails  all  over  the 
state,  but  the  Tulare  have  another  sort,  which  pertains  exclusively 
to  the  women.  It  is  a  kind  of  dice  throwing,  and  is  called  U-cJin-'ttx. 
For  a  dice  they  take  half  of  a  large  acorn  or  walnut  shell,  fill  it  level 
with  pitch  and  pounded  charcoal,  and  inlay  it  with  bits  of  bright-colored 
abalone  shells.  For  a  dice  table  they  weave  a  very  large,  fine  basket 
tray,  almost  flat,  and  ornamented  with  devices  woven  in  black  or  brown, 

«  See  Life  and  Culture  of  the  Hupa,  University  of  California,  1903. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  359 

mostly  rude  imitations  of  trees  and  geometrical  figures.  Four  squaws 
sit  around  it  to  play,  and  a  fifth  keeps  tally  with  fifteen  sticks.  There 
are  eight  dice  and  they  scoop  them  up  with  their  hands  and  dash  them 
into  the  basket,  counting  one  when  two  or  five  flat  surfaces  turn  up. 
(See  Plates  115,  116.) 

The  rapidity  with  which  the  game  goes  forward  is  wonderful,  and 
the  players  seem  totally  oblivious  to  all  things  in  the  world  beside. 
After  each  throw  that  a  player  makes  she  exclaims  yet-ni  (equivalent 
to  "  one-y  "),  or  wi-a-tak,  or  ko-mai-eh,  which  are  simply  a  kind  of  sing 
song  or  chanting.  One  old  squaw,  with  scarcely  a  tooth  in  her  head, 
one  eye  gone,  her  face  all  withered,  but  with  a  lower  jaw  as  of  iron, 
and  features  denoting  extraordinary  strength  of  will— a  reckless  old 
gambler,  and  evidently  a  teacher  of  the  others — after  each  throw 
would  grab  into  the  basket  and  jerk  her  hand  across  it,  as  if  by  the 
motion  of  the  air  to  turn  the  dice  over  before  they  settled,  and  ejacu 
late  wiatak.  It  was  amusing  to  see  the  savage  energy  with  which  this 
fierce  old  hag  carried  on  the  game.  The  others  were  modest  and  spoke 
in  low  tones,  but  she  seemed  to  be  unaware  of  the  existence  of  any 
body  around  her.  a 

The  plates  show  two  varieties  of  the  Yokut  gambling  trays,  the  flat 
and  the  dished.  The  former  is  in  the  National  Museum,  collected  by 
W.  H.  Holmes;  the  latter  is  in  the  C.  P.  Wilcomb  collection,  collected 
on  the  Tule  River. 

IN  TEAPPING 

One  of  the  earliest  and  most  primitive  uses  of  basketiy  textile  was 
in  connection  with  the  capture  of  animals.  In  a  paper  on  traps  pub 
lished  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 6  the  word  trap  is  defined  as 
"an  invention  for  inducing  animals  to  commit  self -incarceration,  self- 
arrest  or  suicide.'-  The  basketry  traps  are  used  principally  for  pen 
ning  or  impounding  animals  and  not  for  killing  them.  In  every  one  of 
the  areas  mentioned,  coarse  wickerwork  or  twined  weaving  are  used  in 
this  function  and  there  is  little  doubt  that  many  of  the  very  finest  pro- 
cessses  of  weaving  by  hand  were  derived  originally  from  coarse  work 
of  this  character. 

The  Porno  Indians  make  a  trap  for  catching  fish  from  Juncus  efusus. 
The  interesting  feature  about  these  objects  is  that  they  are  a  gross 
production  in  brush  of  the  rare  Mohave  carrying  basket,  in  which  the 
weft  is  wrapped  once  about  each  warp  element  in  passing. 

« Contributions  to  North  American  Ethnology,  III,  1877,  pp.  377,  378. 
b  Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  1901,  pp.  461-473. 


360  EEPOBT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 

IN  CARRYING  WATER 

Nearl}7  everywhere  throughout  the  Western  Hemisphere  the  Indian 
was  encamped  near  springs  of  water,  and  in  his  journeys  about  for 
hunting  and  other  purposes  knew  always  where  to  obtain  it.  An 
exception  to  this  is  the  arid  region  of  the  western  portion  of  the  United 
States. 

Among  the  Shoshonean  tribes  and  in  the  pueblos,  seeking  out,  car 
rying,  and  storing  water  was  the  chief  industry  and  most  of  the  relig 
ious  ceremonies  and  prayers  were  with  reference  to  rain. 

The  canteen  and  the  larger  carrying  jar  among  the  sedentary  tribes 
was  of  pottery,  but  with  the  Utes,  Apaches,  and  other  unsettled  tribes 
these  vessels  were  of  water-tight  basketry  made  with  round  or  conical 
bottom,  so  that  in  settling  on  a  level  the  center  of  gravity  would  bring 
the  vessel  into  an  upright  position  and  thereby  keep  the  water  from 
spilling.  (Plates  32,  33.) 

The  transportation  and  storage  of  drinking  water  is  one  of  the 
functions  of  pottery.  Aquarius,  the  water  bearer  of  the  sky,  is  repre 
sented  with  a  jar  in  his  hands,  and  the  spirits  that  haunt  the  springs  in 
classic  mythology  are  all  of  them  friends  of  the  potter.  The  Indians 
of  the  Atlantic  area  were  well  supplied  with  water  and  had  vessels  of 
clay.  The  Eskimo  made  bottles  of  sealskin;  so  did  the  tribes  of  the 
Pacific  coast  as  far  south  as  the  Columbia.  But  in  the  interior  Basin 
of  the  United  States,  Indians  of  the  Shoshoean,  Athapascan,  and  Yuman 
families  substitute  basketry  for  pottery  in  their  canteens,  jugs,  pitch 
ers,  and  small  tanks.  These  are  made  in  coiled  or  twined  ware,  and 
sealed  with  pine  tar  in  the  north  and  asphaltum  in  the  south.  It  is 
probably  owing  to  the  unsettled  life  of  these  tribes  that  the}T  out  and 
out  invented  this  ingenious  substitute  for  fictile  ware.  There  is  no 
lack  of  clay,  for  pueblos  in  the  midst  of  the  region  are  the  last  strong 
holds  of  Keramos  in  America.  And  there  was  in  pre-historic  times  no 
lack  of  pottery  there,  as  the  supply  of  charming  whole  pieces  and 
precious  fragments  bear  witness. 

The  most  interesting  connection  of  hydrotechny  with  basketry  was 
discovered  in  a  cliff-dwelling  3  miles  north  of  White  River  Agency, 
on  the  White  Mountain  Apache  Reservation,  Arizona,  by  Charles  L. 
Owen,  of  the  Field  Columbian  Museum,  Chicago.  On  the  floor  of  the 
cavern  baskets  were  built  without  bottoms.  The  warp  was  of  willow 
shoots  with  the  leaves  on.  The  weft  was  in  juniper  and  willow  twigs 
in  twined  weaving  or  wattling.  The  interstices  were  tilled  with  pud 
dled  clay,  to  make  them  useful  for  receptacles  of  water,  which  had  to 
be  transported  from  the  canyon  300  feet  below.  An  example  brought 
away,  No.  68876  in  the  Field  Museum,  measures  4  feet  10  inches  in 
diameter  and  is  15  to  20  inches  in  height.  (See  Plate  102.) 

The  occurrence  of  basketry  water  receptacles  is  a  good  problem  m 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  •  361 

the  study  of  the  parallelogram  of  subjective  and  objective  forces  which 
originated  and  developed  special  arts  in  primitive  times  everywhere. 
In  this  particular  example,  the  originators  of  cement-tightened  baskets 
had  good  textile  material,  knew  the  arts  of  weaving  them,  were  on  the 
move  in  desert  countries  where  water  sources  were  far  apart,  and 
could  easily  secure  the  pine  sap  or  the  asphaltum  for  tightening 
purposes. 

Plate  117  illustrates  the  water  jug  or  pitcher  of  larger  size,  called 
O-oats  by  the  Paiutes.  Most  of  these  are  in  coiled  weaving,  but 
even  there  a  variety  of  technic  is  shown  both  in  the  foundation  and 
in  the  sewing. 

The  upper  figure  is  a  pitcher-shaped  water  carrier  with  globular 
body,  used  also  for  holding  seed.  The  coiled  foundation  is  of  two  or 
more  rods,  the  stitches  are  wide  apart  and  overlap  in  what  is  called  in 
Porno,  tsai  work.  The  border  is  in  oblique  coiled  sewing,  and  the 
handle  is  an  afterthought  set  on  the  neck.  Its  height  is  10  inches. 
This  specimen,  Cat.  No.  11249  in  the  National  Museum,  was  collected 
in  southern  Utah  by  Major  J.  W.  Powell. 

The  lower  figure  is  a  much  neater  specimen  in  which  the  foundation 
is  a  single  rod  and  in  sewing  the  stitches  simply  interlock  with  those 
underneath,  giving  a  veiy  much  more  regular  form  to  the  surface. 
The  border  is  in  oblique  coiled  sewing.  There  are  lugs  on  the  side 
for  the  purpose  of  carrying,  and  the  headband  is  of  soft  deerskin. 
This  specimen  is  Cat.  No.  11876  in  the  U.S.N.M.,  and  also  was  col 
lected  in  southern  Utah  by  Major  J.  W.  Powell. 

The  Powell  collection  contains  a  large  number  of  these  carrying  jars 
in  coiled  work.  They  differ  in  the  form  of  the  body  somewhat  and  in 
the  length  and  shape  of  the  neck,  but  in  other  respects,  in  structure  and 
function,  they  are  the  same. 

Plate  118  shows  two  Navaho  Indian  girls  carrying  water  in  their 
tiisjehs,  or  basket  jars,  after  G.  Wharton  James."  The  photograph  is 
interesting  also  in  illustrating  the  two  methods  of  suspending  burdens 
employed  by  the  Indians.  The  girl  on  the  right  has  a  band  across  the 
top  of  her  head,  while  the  one  in  the  rear  supports  the  load  from  her 
shoulders.  The  latter  method  is  also  common  in  the  south,  especially 
in  Mexico.  The  baskets  are  made  in  coiled  weaving  and  dipped  in 
pitch  to  make  them  water-tight. 

ALPHABETICAL  LIST  OF  USES 


Armor  made  of  slats  and  rods  woven 
together. 

Awning  mats  in  front  of  cabins. 

Bags  for  everything;  for  gathering,  car 
rying,  and  storing,  made  in  every 
quality. 


Bait  holding. 

Bases    for     pottery-making     (primitive 

wheel);    also    forms    for    portion    of 

vessels. 

Beds  of  matting  in  basketry. 
Boiling  baskets,  for  cooking  flesh  or  mush. 


« Indian  Baskets,  Pasadena,  California,  1902,  p.  31. 


362 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 


Bread,  mixing  or  serving. 

Burden  baskets  in  endless  varieties. 

Burial  caskets  and  deposits. 

Cage  for  insects,  birds  etc.;  also  for  chil 
dren  on  Sioux  travois. 

Canoe  covers,  for  cargoes  (Swan). 

Canteen,  for  personal  water  supply. 

Cape,  poncho,  or  other  garment  to  cover 
the  shoulders,  both  in  animal  and  vege 
table  fiber. 

Carrying  basket,  an  immense  class,  with 
infinite  variety  of  form  and  universal 
distribution. 

Carrying  chair,  Guatemala  and  Peru. 

Ceremonial  objects;  trays  in  rites  and 
before  altar,  carried  in  dances,  strug 
gled  for,  etc. 

Chef  d'oeuvres,  to  show  the  best  one 
could  do. 

Chests  for  treasures,  regalia,  and  fine  cos 
tume. 

Children's  toys;  imitations  of  more  seri 
ous  objects. 

Clothing;  robes  of  twine,  with  or  with 
out  feathers;  hats,  jewelry,  capes, 
fringes,  petticoats,  leggings,  moccasins, 
and  receptacles  for  these. 

Coffins  of  canes  and  reeds  wattled  to 
gether. 

Cooking  baskets,  used  with  hot  stones. 

Cradles  or  pappoose  frames,  quite  widely 
distributed. 

Creels,  all  varieties  of  fishermen's  bas 
kets. 

Cremation  baskets,  burned  at  the  wom 
an's  grave. 

Cult  baskets,  Hupa  basket  wand  (Ray), 
Ilopi  plaque  (Fewkes). 

Curtain  mats  for  partitions. 

Cushions  in  boats  and  kaiaks. 

Dance  baskets,  used  in  ceremonies. 

Ditty  baskets  for  small  articles  of  hunters. 

Dress.     (Ree  Clothing.) 

Drinking  baskets  or  cups. 

Drum,  in  Navaho  ceremony. 

Drying  tray  for  fruit. 

Eagle  traps  and  cages. 

Etiquette  baskets,  for  giving  away  on  the 
proper  occasion. 

Fences  of  coarse  basket  technic;  hunting 
fences. 

Fine  art  in  basketry. 

Fish,  holding,  transporting,  creels,  bait 
baskets. 


Fish  trap,  fish  weirs,  fykes,  etc. 

Food-serving  baskets. 

Foundations  for  pottery. 

Fringes  on   garments,  in  refined  basket 

technic. 

Furniture  in  basketry. 
Gambling  baskets. 
Gathering  or  harvesting. 
Gift  baskets. 
Granary  or  storage. 
Grasshopper  baskets,  so  called. 
Hammocks  in  basket  work. 
Harvesting,  fan  or  wand  for  beating  seeds. 
Hats  for  men  or  for  women. 
Head  rings,  olla  rings  for  carrying. 
Hedges,  employed  chiefly  in  game  drives. 
Hoppers,  for  acorn  and  other  mortars. 
Houses,   walls,   roofs,   floors,  doors,  and 

other  parts. 

Inclosures  for  the  beginning  of  domesti 
cation. 

Insect  cage,  for  lighting  and  other  pur 
poses. 
Jewel  baskets,  chef  d'oeuvres  of  woman's 

art, 
Jewelry,  woven   in    finest    material   for 

adornment. 

Leggings  in  twined  weave. 
Lined  with  clay  for  cooking. 
Love  baskets. 
Marks  on  pottery. 
Meal  trays,  useful  and  sacred. 
Medicine,  associated  with  sorcery. 
Milling  outfit,  grinding,  hoppers,  brushes, 

sieves,  etc. 

Moccasins  or  sandals. 
Molds  for  pottery. 
Money,  mechanism  of  exchange. 
Mortuary   baskets   of   many   kinds  and 

functions. 
Mud    sandals,    Klarnath,   for    going     in 

marshes. 

Mush  bowls  for  mixing  or  serving. 
Musical  instruments,  rattles  and  drums. 
Offerings  of  food  to  dead,  and  mortuary 

objects. 
Paho,  or  prayer-stick  wrappings  (ancient 

graves). 

Panniers,  with  saddles. 
Papoose  baskets. 
Partitions  for  dwellings. 
Patterns  for  pottery. 

Picking  baskets,  for  gathering  nuts  and 
fruits. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


363 


Pitcher  basket,  with  wide  mouth. 

Plaques,  for  meal. 

Plates  or  platters. 

Ponchos.     ( See  Capes. ) 

Pottery.  (See  " Marks  on  Pottery;"  also 
used  to  line  roasting  trays  (Gushing).) 

Prayer  basket,  Pahos. 

Preparing  food,  mixing  mush,  bread,  etc. 

Quivers. 

Receptacles  of  all  sorts,  for  cooked  food, 
dried  fish,  and  all  kinds  of  preserved 
meats  and  fruits.  The  basket  maker 
herself  keeps  her  splints  and  stems  in 
a  basket. 

Religion,  used  in  services  of. 

Roasting  trays,  for  poaching  seeds. 

Robes  of  shredded  bark. 

Roof  of  basketry. 

Sacred  meal  trays. 

Saddlebags,  of  late  application. 

Sails,  in  both  continents. 

Seats,  at  home,  in  boats,  etc. 

Seed  baskets,  harvesting,  carrying,  and 
storage. 

Seed  beater,  for  harvesting. 


Serving  food,  for  single  persons  or  a  com 
pany. 

Sieves,  for  screening  or  for  shaking. 

Skirts,  both  of  common  and  ceremonial 
dress. 

Sleeping  mats. 

Storage,  fish,  berries,  pemmican,  acorns. 
All  tribes  stored  some  kind  of  food. 

Trade,  medium  of. 

Treasure  baskets,  those  considered  treas 
ures. 

Trinket  and  feather  storage,  also  herbs, 
gum,  paint,  etc. 

Vizors  of  Katchina  masks,  made  from 
segments  of  coiled  basketry  (Utetype), 
Hopi. 

Washbowl,  in  ceremonies. 

Water  bottles,  drinking  cups,  etc.,  of  bas 
ketry  dipped  in  pitch. 

Water  transportation,  rafts  of  cane,  mats 
for  sails. 

Wedding  blanket  or  cover. 

Winnowing  baskets  for  seeds. 

Zootechny,  or  the  arts  associated  with 
animal  life. 


VII.   ETHNIC  VARIETIES  OF  BASKETRY 

For  all  arts  belonging  to  humanity  have  a  common  bond  and  are  included,  as  it  were,  in  the  same 

kinship.— CICERO. 

The  technical  processes,  the  decorations,  and  the  symbolism  that 
may  exist  in  the  single  basket  having  been  scrutinized,  it  is  in  order 
to  examine  the  geographic  distribution  of  these  forms  in  relation  to 
ethnology  and  environment.  Geography  has  much  to  do  with  human 
enterprises.  It  does  not  furnish  the  ingenious  mind  nor  the  skillful 
hand,  but  it  does  supply  their  materials  for  their  exercise  and  set 
bounds  in  which  the  mind  and  hand  soon  discover  how  to  reach  their 
best. 

America  was,  in  aboriginal  times,  unequally  occupied  by  native 
peoples.  On  the  Atlantic  slope  in  both  continents  vast  areas  were  in 
possession  of  single  linguistic  groups  called  families.  On  the  Pacific 
slope  there  were  also  a  few  influential  families,  but  the  rule  was 
otherwise.  Wedged  in  among  the  mountains  wherever  there  was  an 
inclosure  abounding  in  food  supply  there  were  crowded  what  seemed 
to  be  shriveled  remnants  of  once  larger  peoples,  or  fragments  of  dis 
rupted  families. 

At  once  arises  the  query,  Did  they  bring  with  them  and  preserve 
uncontaminated  the  stitches  and  patterns  of  their  priscan  basketry  and 
keep  the  ancient  models  unchanged?  It  is  to  be  feared  that  they  did 
not,  and  that  is  why  the  ethnologist  becomes  embarrassed  in  trying  to 


364  REPOKT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

harmonize  ethnology  and  technology.     There  are,   notwithstanding, 
certain  general  effects  which  may  be  associated  with  definite  peoples. 

1.  In  the  Eastern  province  the  prevailing- families  were  Algonquian, 
Iroquoian,   Muskhogean,   Caddoan,   and  a  few  remnants  of   smaller 
ones,  in  some  instances  numbering  at  present  less  than  a  hundred  per 
sons.     The  Siouan  and  other  buffalo-hunting-  tribes  on  the  plains  will 
be  omitted  because  the  hide  of  the  slain  animals  furnished  them  with 
receptacles  as  Avell  as  other  conveniences  of  life.     The  basket  makers 
in  their  territory  belong  elsewhere. 

2.  In  the  Alaskan  province  an  interesting  state  of  affairs  existed 
with  reference  to  the  matter  here  investigated.     In  the  interior  of  the 
peninsula  are  the  Athapascan  (or  Tinne)  tribes.     Around  the  coast 
line  dwell  members  of  the  Eskimauan  family,  having  entirely  different 
materials,  workmanship,   and   technical   processes.     It  will   be  seen 
later  that  the  Eskimo  as  a  whole  are  not  skillful  basket  makers.     There 
has  been  contact,  however,  between  the  two  linguistic  families.     The 
Aleutian  peoples  are  very  different  in  this  art  from  the  Eskimo,  their 
ware  being-  among  the  most  highly  admired  on  the  continent.     In 
southeastern  Alaska  the  Koloschan  family  are  found,  who  are  different 
from  the  Athapascans  in  the  interior  of  the  peninsula  in  that  they  do 
not  make  coiled  basketry  at  all.     The  same  is  true  of  the  Haida  or 
Skittagetan  family,  in  the  Queen  Charlotte  Archipelago. 

3.  In  the  Erazer-Columbia  province,  including  the  drainage  of  these 
great  rivers,  the  Salishan  family,  the  Wakashan,  the  Shahaptian,  and 
the  Chinookan  are  the  present  basket-making  families.     As  in  the 
Siouan  areas,  so  here  a  few  small  fragments  or  survivals  till  in  the 
gaps  and  waste  places,  but  contribute  little  to  the  technical  processes 
involved.     In  the  discussion  of   basketry  in  this  province  a  special 
characteristic  will  be  brought  out. 

4.  The  California  province,  including  also  southern  Oregon,  is  the 
most  mixed  of  all  in  its  ethnology.     Many  stocks  of  people  whose 
languages  are  not  known  elsewhere,  and  many  fragments  of  stocks 
that  have  a  larger  existence  in  other  parts  of  America,  are  wedged 
into  the  mountain  valleys  and  drainages  of  the  streams.     Nature  has 
been  most  lavish  here  in  her  materials,  and  the  finest  textile  plants  for 
making  baskets  are  to  be  found  in  California.      The  diversity  of  technic 
is. almost  as  great  as  that  of  language.     Few  styles  of  weaving  or  coil 
ing  exist  that  do  not  have  their  representatives  among  this  intermin 
able  labyrinth  of  valleys. 

5.  The   Desert,  or   Interior  province,  is  occupied  in  its  northern 
portion   by   the   great   Shoshoneau  family,  which  extends  from  the 
forty-ninth  parallel  to  Costa  Rica,  pushes  its  way  over  the  Kocky 
Mountains  into  the  Mississippi  drainage  and  across  southern  California 
to  the  Santa  Barbara  islands  on  the  Pacific  coast,  giving  and  receiving 
technical  suggestions  in  its  way.     In  th6  southern  portion  of  this 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  365 

interior  province,  Athapascan  tribes,  the  Navaho  and  the  Apache, 
the  Yuman,  and  the  Piman  family  are  basket  makers. 

6.  The  sixth  province  includes  Middle  and  South  America,  not 
because  all  the  basketry  in  these  regions  is  on  the  same  plane,  but 
owing  to  the  small  collections  received  from  these  quarters.  A  great 
portion  of  it  is  in  the  Torrid  zone,  where  palm  leaf  and  tough  cane 
and  reeds  await  the  basket  maker.  There  will  be  missing  the  charac 
teristics  of  the  North  American  tribes,  and  also  local  weaves  will  appeal- 
worthy  of  study." 

Unlike  pottery,  this  fabric  is  not  destroyed  b}^  frost,  so  that  wher 
ever  textile  material  could  be  obtained  there  was  no  meteorological 
reason  why  the  basket  should  not  be  forthcoming.  The  Athapascans 
of  Alaska  and  northwestern  Canada,  possessed  of  both  willow  and 
spruce  root,  at  once  developed  the  coiled  ware  which  their  descend 
ants,  the  Apache,  are  still  making  in  Arizona. 

East  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  in  the  Atlantic  drainage  of  Canada 
and  the  United  States,  at  the  present  time  checker  and  willow  work 
are  practiced  almost  universally;  but  in  the  mounds  of  the  Ohio  Val 
ley  quite  well  diffused  twined  ware  is  found.  The  Gulf  province 
afforded  excellent  cane  (Arundinaria  macrosperma,  Arundinaria  (jigan- 
tea,  Arundinaria  tecta),  and  here,  both  in  ancient  times  and  in  modern, 
diagonal  plaiting  of  basketry  and  matting  was  prevalent  in  all  tribes. 
The  Plains  province  in  its  central  portion  relied  chiefly  on  the  hide  of 
animals  for  its  receptacles.  But  around  its  borders  will  be  found 
intrusive  processes  of  manufacture  in  twined,  diagonal  and  coiled 
workmanship. 

On  its  Pacific  slopes  North  America  is  the  home  of  basketry.  From 
Attu,  the  westernmost  island  of  the  Aleutian  chain,  to  the  borders  of 
northern  Mexico  is  to  be  found  practically  every  type  of  this  art. 

In  Middle  America,  including  southern  Mexico  and  the  Central 
American  States,  pottery  was  exalted  among  receptacles,  and  excellent 
fibers  usurped  the  function  of  the  coarser  pliable  materials  of  basketry. 

Owing  to  differences  of  climate,  rainfall,  and  other  characteristics 
of  environment,  the  materials  for  basketry  vary  greatly  from  region 
to  region  throughout  America,  and  this  in  spite  of  all  ethnic  considera 
tions.  Again,  the  motives  for  the  use  of  basketry  differ  from  place  to 
place,  so  much  so  that  peoples  of  one  blood  make  one  ware  in  this 
place  and  another  in  that.  Finally,  however,  it  must  never  be  for- 

«The  author  acknowledges  that  many  statements  made  in  this  ethnic  portion  of 
the  work  are  at  second  hand  and  has  been  fortunate  in  being  able  to  consult  men  of 
expert  information.  The  Hudson  and  the  Merriam  collection,  in  Washington  City, 
the  Benham,  Tozier,  Emmons,  Teit,  Long,  Whitcomb,  McLeod,  and  others  of  the 
west  coast  have  been  placed  cheerfully  at  his  disposal.  To  Mr.  C.  C.  Willoughby,  Dr. 
Boas,  Mr.  Pepper,  Dr.  Dixon,  Dr.  Kroeber,  and  others  mentioned  in  these  pages,  he 
is  indebted  for  constant  favors.  He  hopes  that  errors  will  be  condoned. 


366  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

gotten  that  the  ideas,  utilitarian  and  artistic,  in  the  minds  of  the  man 
ufacturers  themselves,  serve  to  bestow  special  marks  upon  the  work 
of  different  tribes  so  as  to  give  to  them  ethnic  or  national  significance 
under  any  circumstances.  Jn  the  following  chapters  the  typical  forms 
of  the  various  families  of  Indians  will  be  illustrated. 

Were  there  no  mixture  of  tribes  it  might  be  possible  to  state  in 
every  case  the  maker  of  each  specimen  from  the  technic  and  the  orna 
mentation,  though  this  opinion  must  be  held  with  reserve.  Through 
out  the  entire  continent  the  practice  of  capturing  women  was  common; 
in  each  case  the  stolen  ones  carried  to  their  homes  the  processes  they 
had  been  familiar  with  in  their  native  tribe.  The  Twana  Indians  on 
Puget  Sound  practice  ten  different  methods  of  basket  making;  the 
Porno  Indians  have  eight  processes;  the  Hopi  Indians  of  Arizona  have 
at  least  live.  It  is  well  known  that  each  one  of  these  tribes  belong  to 
synthetic  families.  In  order  to  comprehend  the  extent  of  this  rela 
tionship  between  the  tribe  and  the  art,  the  various  basket  making 
groups  will  be  defined  and  the  types  of  their  work  illustrated.  (See 
Plates  154,155.) 

The  mixing  of  basket  work  through  the  traveling  about  of  women 
is  well  illustrated  in  the  story  of  Maria  Narcissa,  told  by  E.  L.  McLeod, 
of  Bakerstield,  California.  Maria  was  born  at  San  Gabriel  mission 
and  brought  up  in  Tejon  Canyon.  There  she  retained  the  knowledge 
of  her  native  speech  and  learned  the  dialects  of  the  surrounding  tribes. 
She  married  an  American,  reared  and  educated  a  large  family  of  chil 
dren,  and  is  still  living.  On  her  testimony  tribes  from  the  north  as 
far  up  as  Tule  River  would  come  down  to  Tejon  for  social  and  religious 
purposes,  hold  great  feasts  and  dances,  and  gamble  on  the  gaming 
plaques.  Parties  came  longer  journeys  from  San  Fernando,  San 
Gabriel,  Ventura,  Santa  Barbara,  and  Santa 'Inez,  and  Mr.  McLeod 
finds  undoubted  evidences  of  these  meetings  in  the  technic  and  the  deco 
rations  on  basketry.  (See  Plates  115-116.) 

From  the  Tule  River  country  there  came  the  beautiful  flexible  work, 
an  improvement  on  the  Fresno  ware.  But  the  Tejon  basketry 
excelled,  the  pieces  were  better  finished,  there  was  more  emulation,  a 
greater  variety  of  patterns,  showing  the  influence  of  both  north  and 
south. 

There  was  trading  of  materials  likewise,  for  you  will  see  fine  old 
pieces  from  the  caves  on  the  Tejon  with  mission  bottoms  and  Tejon 
tops,  also  old  specimens  from  caves  in  Santa  Barbara  County  which 
were  made  in  Tejon. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  367 

LIST  OF  BASKET-MAKING  TRIBES 

The  following  list  includes  the  names  of  those  tribes  known  to 
collectors  as  makers  of  any  kind  of  basketry,  especially  in  North 
America,  together  with  the  linguistic  families  to  which  they  belong, 
and  their  locations. 

Abenaki,  Algonquian  family,  Maine  and  Canada. 

Aleut,  Eskimauan  family,  Aleutian  Islands.         * 

Algonquian  family,  northern  frontier  and  Canada,  many  tribes. 

Apache,  Athapascan  family.     See  Chirk-alma,  Jicarilla,  Mescalero,  San  Carlos,  White 

Mountain,  Arizona,  New  Mexico,  and  Oklahoma. 
Apache- Yuma,  Yuman  family,  Palomas,  Yuma  County,  Arizona. 
Arapaho,  Algonquian  family,  Shoshoni  Agency,  Wyoming;  and  Oklahoma. 
Arikara,  Caddoan  family,  Fort  Berthold,  North  Dakota. 
Ashochimi,  Yukian  family,  near  Healdsburg,  California. 
Atsuge.     See  Hat  Creek,  branch  of  Pit  River. 
Attakapa,  Attakapan  family,  southern  Louisiana. 
Attu  Island.     See  Aleut. 

Auk,  Koluschan  family,  Gastineaux  Channel,  southeastern  Alaska. 
Basket-Makers,  Ancient  Shoshonean  family,  Grand  Gulch,  southeastern  Utah. 
Bella  Coola.     See  Bilhula. 

Bilhula,  Salishan  family,  northwestern  British  Columbia. 
Cahuilla.     See  Coahuilla. 
Calapooia,  or  Kalapuya. 

Calpella,  Kulanapan  family,  Ukiah,  California. 
Carriers.     See  Thompson  Indians. 

Cayuse,  AVaiilatpuan  family,  Umatilla  Agency,  Oregon. 
Chaves  Pass  Ruin,  Hopi  pueblo,  Arizona. 
Chehalis,  Salishan  family,  Chehalis  River,  Washington. 
Chemehuevi,  Shoshonean  family,  Arizona  and  California  boundary. 
Cherokee,  Iroquoian  family,  North  Carolina  and  Indian  Territory. 
Chetimachas,  Chetimachan  family,  Louisiana.     Also  written  Shetimachas. 
Chevlon  Ruins,  Hopi  pueblo,  northeastern  Arizona. 
Chickasaw,  Muskhogean  family,  Indian  Territory. 
Chilcotin,  Athapascan  family,  Tsilkotinneh  or  Chilkyotins,  distinct  from  Carriers, 

British  Columbia. 

Chilkat,  Koluschan  family,  southeastern  Alaska. 

Chinook,  Chinookan  family,  southeastern  lower  Columbia  River,  Washington. 
Chippewa,  Algonquian  family,  northern  United  States. 
Chiricahua  Apache,  Athapascan  family,  Arizona  and  Oklahoma. 
Choctaw,  Muskhogean  family,  Louisiana. 
Chukchansi,   Yokut  tribe,   Mariposan   family,  Sierra  region,    California,   north  of 

Fresno. 

Clallam,  Salishan  family,  Washington. 
Clatsop,  Chinookan  family,  Clatsop  County,  Oregon. 
Coahuilla,  Shoshonean  family,  Coahuilla,  Kawia,  Kauvuya,  Agua  Caliente,  Santa 

Rosa,  Cabezon,  Torres,  Twenty-nine  Palms  and  Cahuilla  reservations,  California; 

also  Saboba,  southern  California. 
Cocahebas.     See  Merriam's  list,  page  468. 
Coconinos.     See  Havasupai,  Yuman  family. 

Cocopa,  Yuman  family,  near  Mexican  boundary,  Arizona,  and  Lower  California. 
Concow,  Pujunan  family,  Round  Valley,  California. 


368  REPORT   OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

Coos,  Kusan  family,  Coos  County,  Oregon. 

Coquille. 

Couteau.     See  Thompson  Indians. 

Cowlitz,  Salishan  family,  Cowlitz  River,  Washington. 

Coyotero  Apache,  Athapascan  family,  southern  Arizona. 

Coymvee.     See  Paiutes. 

Creeks,  Muskhogean  family,  Southern  States  and  Indian  Territory. 

Diegueiios,  Yumaii  family,  San  Diego  County,  California.     Capitan  Grande,  Sequan, 

Santa  Ysabel,  Campo,  Cuyamaka,  and  Morongo  reservations. 
Diggers,  Pujunan  family,  (a  popular  name  applied  to  vegetarian  tribes),  California, 

east  of  the  Sacramento. 

Eel  Rivers,  Athapascan  family.     See  Flonho. 
Eskimo,  Eskimauan  family,  Arctic  America. 
Flathead,  Salishan  family,  misnomer  for  Salish. 
Flonho  or  Lolonkuh,  Athapascan  family,  Eel  River,  California. 
Eraser  River,  Salishan  family,  British  Columbia. 
Galice  Creek,  Kulanapan  family.     See  Porno. 
Gallinomero,  Kulanapan  family,  Cloverdale,  California. 
Garotero,  Athapascan  family.     (Same  as  Coyotero. ) 
Gualala,  Kulanapan  family,  Mendocino  County,  California. 
Haida,  Skittagetan  family,  Southern   Alaska,  Dall,  Prince  of  Wales  islands,  Queen 

Charlotte  Islands,  and  British  Columbia. 

Hat  Creek,  Palaihnihan  family,  northeastern  California,  branch  of  Pit  Rivers. 
Havasupai,  Yuman  family,  Cataract  Canyon,  Arizona. 
Hoh,  Chimakuan  family,  Neah  Bay,  Washington. 
Homolobi,  ancient  ruin  near  Winslow,  in  Arizona, 
Hoochnom,  Yukian  family,  Round  Valley,  California,  Eel  River. 
Hoonah,  Koluschan  family,  Cross  Sound,  Alaska. 

Hopi,  Shoshonean  or  Hopean  family,  Pueblos,  northeastern  Arizona.    Wrongly  Moki. 
Hualapai.     See  Walapai. 

Huicholes,  Piman  family,  Zacatecas,  etc.,  Mexico. 
Hupa,  Athapascan  family,  Trinity  River,  California. 
Iroquois,  Iroquoian  family,  northern  frontier  and  Canada. 
Jicarilla  Apache,  Athapascan  family,  northern  New  Mexico,  Jicarilla  Agency. 
Kabinapo  Porno,  Kulanapan  family,  Clear  Lake,  California,  western  part, 
Karok  or  Cahroc,  Quoratean  family,  Klamath  River,  California,  Lower  Salmon  River 

and  down  Klamath  to  a  few  miles  above  Waitspeh. 
Kaweah,  Mariposan  family,  middle  California,  not  Coahuilla. 
Klamath,  Lutuamian  family,  Klamath  County,  Oregon. 
Klikitat,   Shahaptian  family,  Yakama  Reservation,   Washington,  Klikitat  County, 

Oregon. 

Kohonino,  same  as  Havasupai. 

Lillooet,  Salishan  family,  western  British  Columbia, 
Little  Lakes,  Kulanapan  family,  Round  Valley  Reservation,  California. 
Lolonkuh,  Athapascan  family,  Eel  River,  California. 
Luiseno  or  San  Luis  Rey  Mission,  Shoshonean  family,  Mesa  Grande,  Potrero,  Teme- 

cula,  Rincon,  Los  Coyotes,  Pauma,  and  Pala  reservations,  villages  at  San  Luis 

Rey,  and  San  Felipe,  California. 

Lumini,  Salishan  family,  north  Puget  Sound,  Washington. 
McCloud  or  Winneinem,  Copehan  family,  northern  California. 
Maidu,  Pujunan  family,  east  of  Sacramento  River,  California,  Sacramento  to  Honey 

Lake,  from  Big  Chico  Creek  to  Bear  River,  California. 
Makah,  Wakashan  family,  Cape  Flattery,  Washington. 
Makhelchel,  Copehan  family,  Clear  Lake,  California. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  369 

Maricopa,  Yuman  family,  southern  Arizona. 
Mattoal,  Athapascan  family,  northwestern  California. 
Mayas,  Mayan  family,  Yucatan  and  lands  adjacent. 
Melicite,  Algonquian  family,  Quebec  and  New  Brunswick. 
Menomini,  Algonquian  family,  northeast  Wisconsin. 

Mescalero  Apache,  Athapascan  family,  Mescalero  Agency,  eastern  New  Mexico. 
Mewas.     See  Miwok. 

Micmac,  Algonquian  family,  Nova  Scotia,  New  Brunswick,  and  Quebec. 
Missions,  a  great  many  villages,  Shoshonean  and  Yuman  families,  southern  California. 
Agua  Caliente  ( Shoshonean ) ,  a  rancheria  in  western  San  Diego  County. 
Augustine  (Shoshonean). 
Coahuilla,  Kawia  (Shoshonean). 

Comoyei,  Yuman  family,  all  Yuma  dialects  between  Lower  Colorado  River 
and  Pacific  Ocean  and  32°  to  34°  north,  Comoya,  Quemaya,  called  Diegueiios 
on  the  coast. 

Cuchan,  Yuman  family,  Yumas  so  called. 
Cupania,  in  Agua  Caliente. 
Diegueno,   Yuman  family,    in  Capitan  Grande,    Campo,  Cuyamaka,  Inaja, 

Sequan,  Santa  Ysabel,  Mesa  Grande,  San  Felipe,  Manzanita  villages. 
Kawia,  Shoshonean  family.     See  Coahuilla. 
Matayhoa,  possibly  the  Diegueno  village  of  Mataguay,  in  western  part  of  San 

Diego  County. 

Piute,  Shoshonean  family,  at  Twenty-nine  Palms. 
Playanos,  Shoshonean  family,  coast  tribes  of  Coahuilla. 
Saboba  (School),  Shoshonean  family,  Tahktam  village,  San  Jacinto  Valley. 
San  Felipe,  Yuman  family,  a  Diegueno  rancheria  of  this  name  was  70  miles 

northeast  of  San  Diego  in  1883. 

San  Fernando,  Shoshonean  family,  related  to  San  Gabriel. 
San  Gabriel,  Shoshonean  family,  also  Kizh  dialect,  Tobikhar  of  Loew. 
San  Juan  Capistrano,  Shoshonean  family,  formerly  Netela  dialect,  Gaitchirn 

of  Loew,  called  Juanenos. 
San  Lucania,  Shoshonean  family,  also  Cabezon,  Potrero,  Pala,  Pauma,  Rincon, 

Temecula,  Puerto  de  la  Cruz,  Puerta  Ygnacia,  Torris,  and  Matajaui. 
San  Luis  Key  (de  Francis),  Shoshonean  family,  formerly  Kizh  dialect. 
Santa  Inez.     Same  character  of  baskets  as  Santa  Barbara. 
Santa  Rosa. 

Serrano,  Shoshonean  family,  Morongo,  San  Manuel,  the  Serranos  or  "  moun 
taineers,"  formerly  Tahktam,  a  division  of  Tabikhar. 
Takhtam  (men),  Shoshonean  family,  called  Serranos,  dialect,  Coahuilla. 
Tule  River,  remnant  of  Tejon. 

Yuma,  Yuman  family,  evidently  the  Cuchan  or  present  Yumas. 
Miwok,    Moquelumnan    family,    California,    from   the   Sierra   to   the   San  Joaquin 

River,  from  Cosumnes  to  the  Fresno. 
Modoc,  Lutuamian  family,  Klamath  Agency,  Oregon,  east  of  Shasta,  north  to  Goose 

Lake  Valley. 
Mohave,  Yuman  family,  between  Fort  Mohave  and  Ehrenberg,  Lower  Colorad< 

River. 

Moki  or  Hopi  pueblos,  Shoshonean  family,  northeastern  Arizona. 
Monos,  Shoshonean  family,  sierras  east  of  Yosemite,  California. 
Muckleshoot,  Salishan  family,  Puget  Sound,  Tulalip  Agency,  Washington. 
Nakum,  Pujunan  family.     See  Maidu. 

Napa  or  Suisun  or  Solano,  Copehan  family,  Sacramento  River,  California. 
Natano,  band  of  Hupa. 
Navaho,  Athapascan  family,  southern  Utah,  New  Mexico,  and  Arizona, 

NAT  MUS   1902 24 


370 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1902. 


Navarros,  Kalanapan,  Punta  Arenas,  California. 

Nehalem,  Salishan,  Oregon. 

Newooah.     See  Merriam's  list,  page  469. 

Nez  Perce,  Shahaptin  family,  Nez  Perce  Agency,  northern  Idaho. 

Nims.     See  Merriam's  list,  page  468. 

Nishinam,  Pujunan  family,  Sacramento  Valley,  California. 

Niskwalli,  Salishan  family,  or  Nisqualli,  Columbia  River,  Washington. 

Nomelaki  or  Numlaki,  Copehan  family,  Round  Valley,  California. 

No/is?,  Yanan  family,  south  of  Pit  Rivers,  California. 

Nutka,  Wakashan  family,  West  Vancouver  Island.     See  Makah. 

Ojibwa,  Algonquian  family,  Michigan. 

Opata,  Sierra  Madre,  Sonora  and  Chihuahua. 

Oraibi,  Shoshonean  family.     (See  Hopi)  Hopi  pueblo. 

Paiutes,  Shoshonean  family,  Nevada  agencies,  Reno,  Carson  and  Wadsworth  on 
central  route  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Company;  Tule  River  Reservation,  Kern 
River,  White  River,  Poso  Creek,  Sierras  near  Walker  Pass,  eastern  Nevada, 
Pyramid  Lake,  Schurz,  Hawthorne,  Virginia  City. 

Panamint,  Shoshonean  family,  Death  Valley,  Inyo  County,  California. 

Papago,  Piman  family,  south  of  Tucson,  Arizona,  and  Sonora,  Mexico. 

Patawat,  Wishoskan  family,  Humboldt  Bay  to  Arcata,  California. 

Patwin,  Copehan  family,  Sacramento  River,  California. 

Pawnee,  Caddoan  family.     See  Arikara. 
Penobscot,  Algonquian  family,  Old  Town,  Maine. 
Peruvian,  Keehuan  family,  Highlands  of  Peru. 

Piina,  Piman  family,  Gila  River,  Arizona. 

Pit  Rivers,  Palaihnihan  family,  Pit  River,  California. 

Porno,    many   subdivisions,    Kulanapan    family,     Mendocino   and    Lake   counties, 

California. 

Potter  Valley,  Kulanapan  family,  Round  Valley,  California. 
Pueblos:  of  the  Rio  Grande.  Tanoan  and  Keresan  families;  those  of  the  Zunian  family 

are  in  New  Mexico;  Shoshonean  pueblos  are  in  northeastern  Arizona. 
Puyallup,  Salishan  family,  Puget  Sound,  Washington. 
Queets,  Chimakuan  family,  northwest  Washington. 
Quilleute,  Chimakuan  family,  northwest  Washington. 
Quinaielt,  same  as  Quinaults,  Salishan  family,  west  Washington. 
Redwoods,  Yukian  family,  Round  Valley  Reservation,  California. 
Rogue  Rivers,  Athapascan  family,  Grande  Ronde  Reservation,  Oregon. 
Round  Valley  tribes.     See  Concow,  Little  Lakes,  Nomelakki.  Pit  Rivers,  Redwoods, 

Wailaki,  and  Yuki. 

Saboba  Mission,  Shoshonean,  southern  California. 
Salishan  family,  great  variety  of  technic  and  many  tribes,  Washington  and  British 

Columbia. 

San  Carlos,  Apache,  Athapascan  family,  southeastern  Arizona. 
San  Felipe  pueblo,  Keresan  family,  Rio  Grande  River,  New  Mexico. 
Santa  Barbara  Mission,  Moquelumnan  family,  southwestern  California. 
Santa  Rosa  Mission,  Yuman  family,  San  Diego  County,  California. 
Santa  Ysabel,  Yuman  family,  San  Diego  County,  California. 
Seminole,  Muskhogean  family,  Florida. 

Shasta,  Sastean  family,  in  Shasta  and  Scott  Valley,  California. 
Shoshoni,  Shoshonean  family,  Great  Interior  Basin,  Montana. 
Shushwap,  Salishan  family,  British  Columbia. 
Sia,  Keresan  family,  New  Mexico,  a  Rio  Grande  pueblo. 
Sikyatki,  ruin,  ancient  Hopi  pueblo,  northern  Arizona. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  371 

Siletz,  Athapascan,  Siletz  Reservation,  Oregon. 

Sitka,  Koluschan  family,  Alaska. 

Si  wash,  Chinook  jargon  for  "Savage,"  general  name  for  Northwest  Coast  Indians. 

Skagit,  Salishan  family,  North  Puget  Sound. 

Skokomish,  Salishan  family,  or  Twana,  upper  Puget  Sound,  Puyallup  Agency, 
Skokornish  Reservation,  Skokomish  River. 

Snohomish,  Salishan  family,  upper  Puget  Sound,  Tulalip  Agency  and  reservation, 
northeast  of  the  Skokomish. 

Solano.     See  Napa. 

Spokan,  Salishan  family,  Montana  and  Washington. 

Squaxin,  Salishan  family,  Puget  Sound. 

Suisun.     See  Napa. 

Tarku,  Koluschan  family,  Tarku  Inlet,  Alaska. 

Tatu,  Yukian  family,  Round  Valley,  United  States  Indian  Agency,  California. 

Tejon,  Tulares  of  Tejon  Pass,  Moquelumnan  family. 

Thompson  Indians,  Salishan  family,  also  Couteau  or  Knife  Indians,  British  Colum 
bia,  southern  interior  of  British  Columbia,  mostly  east  of  Coast  Range,  in  val 
leys  of  Fraser,  Thompson,  and  Nicola  rivers. 

Tillamuk,  Tillamook  County,  Oregon. 

Tinne,  Athapascan  family,  name  for  tribes  in  Alaska  and  Canada. 

Tlinkit,  Koluschan  family,  southern  Alaska. 

Tolowa,  Athapascan  family,  Crescent  City,  California. 

Tonto  Apache,  Athapascan  family,  southern  Arizona. 

Towanhoo.     See  Twana. 

Tsinuk  or  Chinook,  Chinookaii  family,  Columbia  River,  Washington. 

Tulalip,  Salishan  family,  Tulalip  Reservation,  Washington. 

Tulares,  Moquelumnan  family,  Tule  River,  California. 

Tule  Rivers,  Mariposan  family,  southern  California. 

Twana,  Salishan  family,  Puget  Sound,  Washington. 

Umatilla,  Shahaptian  family,  Umatilla  and  Morrow  counties,  Oregon. 

Umpqua,  Athapascan,  Grande  Ronde,  Oregon. 

Ute,  Shoshonean,  in  Utah  under  many  names. 

Viard  or  Weeyot,  Wishoskan  family,  Eel  River,  California. 

Waiam,  Shahaptian  family,  village  rather  than  tribe,  Des  Chutes  Rivers,  Oregon. 

Wailaki,  Copehan  family,  Sacramento  Valley,  California. 

Walapai  or  Hualapai,  Yuman  family,  northwestern  Arizona. 

Wallawralla,  Umatilla  Agency,  Oregon. 

Wappo,  Yukian  family,  Alexander  Valley,  California. 

Warm  Spring  Apaches,  Athapascan,  Chiricahua,  Mexico. 

Wasco,  Chinookan  family,  The  Dalles,  Oregon. 

Washo,  Washoan  family,  Reno,  Carson,  and  Wadsworth,  on  central  route  of  the  South 
ern  Pacific  Company,  western  Nevada,  Genoa,  Gardenville,  Washoe,  Franktown. 

White  Mountain  Apache,  Fort  Apache  Agency,  eastern  Arizona. 

Wikchunmi,  Yokut  tribe,  Mariposan  family,  Sierra  region,  California. 

Wintun,  Pit  River  Indians.  Copehan  family,  Sacramento  River,  California. 

Wuksatches.     See  Merriam's  list,  p.  469. 

AVushqum,  Chinookan,  Columbia  River,  Oregon. 

Yakima,  Shahaptian  family,  Washington. 

Yakutat,  Koluschan  family,  Yakutat  Bay,  southeast  Alaska. 

Yamhill,  Kalapooian  family,  Willamette  Valley,  Oregon. 

Yana  or  Nozi,  Yanan  family,  near  Redding,  California. 

Yaqui,  Piman,  Sonora,  Mexico. 

Yoalmani,  Yokut  tribe,  Mariposan  family,  Tule  River  Reservation,  California. 

Yoerkali,  Yokut  tribe,  Mariposan  family,  Tule  River  Reservation,  California. 


372  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

Yokaia,  Kulanapan  family,  Ukiah  Valley,  California. 
Yokuts,  Mariposan  family,  mid-California. 
Yuki  or  Ukie,  Yukian  family,  Round  Valley,  California. 
Yurok,  Weitspekan  family,  Klamath  River,  California. 
Zuni,  Zufiian  family,  western  New  Mexico. 

EASTERN  NORTH  AMERICA 

For  thus  the  tale  was  told 

By  a  Penobscot  woman 

As  she  sat  weaving  a  basket, 

A  basket  or  ahazvoda 

Of  that  sweet-scented  grass 

Which  Indians  dearly  love. 

—CHARLES  GODFREY  LELAND. 

Eastern  North  America  will  include  the  tribes  east  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  Many  of  them  are  now  basket  makers,  but  archeology  is 
doing  excellent  service  in  helping  to  complete  a  map  of  this  area  in 
order  to  determine  the  distribution  of  the  various  technical  processes 
that  obtained  in  aboriginal  times.  The  few  types  of  the  art  that  now 
survive  must  not  be  taken  as  covering  the  ground  of  ancient  weaves. 
The  recovery  of  the  latter  by  the  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  the 
Peabody  Museum,  and  other  explorations  is  one  of  the  most  wonder 
ful  contributions  of  the  spade  to  the  ethnologist.  Though  basketry 
was  anciently  made  of  grass,  hemp  fiber,  bark,  young  stalks,  and  sap- 
wood,  and  for  that  reason  is  the  most  perishable  of  human  manufac 
tures,  under  favorable  conditions  salt  mines,  nitrous  caves,  the  desert's 
aridity,  metallic  earths,  and  even  fire  have  kindly  preserved  enough 
of  the  delicate  textures  to  reveal  the  processes  of  weaving  in  vogue 
many  centuries  ago. 

Indian  women  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  used  to  decorate  the  out- 
sides  of  clay  vessels  by  pressing  string  and  basketry  products  on  the 
soft  material  before  burning.  Thus  they  preserved  the  record  of 
the  art  for  all  time.  B}7  applying  modeler's  cla3T  to  these  ancient 
fragments  the  texture  is  at  once  revealed.  In  Popular  Science 
Monthly n  will  be  seen  account  of  experiments  with  these  sybilline 
shards,  by  George  E.  Sellers.  William  H.  Holmes  simultaneously 
made  larger  investigations  and  published  accounts  of  experiments  by 
him  on  Mound  Builders  and  other  ancient  pottery  of  this  area.6  He 
carefully  washed  the  fragments  of  their  ware  and  made  casts  of  the 
outer  surface.  The  result  was  astonishing.  Natural  forces  had  eaten 
away  and  greatly  obscured  the  marks  of  textiles  on  the  outside  surface 
of  the  shards,  but  in  the  bottom  of  the  cavities,  filled  for  centuries 
with  earth,  the  impressions  have  been  carefully  preserved,  and  "the 
manner  in  which  the  fabric  in  all  its  details  of  plaiting,  netting,  and 
weaving  were  constructed  can  be  brought  out  quite  as  graphical!}^  as 

a  Vol.  XI,  1877,  p.  573. 

&  Third  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  1884,  pp.  393-425. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  373 

though  one  were  examining  the  surface  of  the  original  vessels."  On 
the  surfaces  of  rocks  the  paleo-botanist  discovers  the  delicate  impres 
sions  of  leaves.  In  these  indelible  lines  he  reads  the  names  of  species 
of  trees  that  grew  millenniums  ago.  So,  through  these  impressions 
on  potsherds  the  archeologist  is  able  to  discover  lost  arts  of  whose 
existence  all  other  evidence  has  perished.  (See  Plate  107.) 

All  along  our  northern  frontier  and  in  many  parts  of  Canada  the 
Iroquois  and  Chippewa  now  fabricate  baskets  from  the  ash,  birch, 
linden,  and  other  white  woods  and  the  vernal  or  sweet  grass  (Savas- 
tana  odorata).  The  method  of  manufacture  is  universally  the  same; 
it  is  the  plainest  in-and-out  checker  and  wicker  weaving.  (See  Plates 
117  and  121).  The  basket^  is  far  from  monotonous,  however,  for  the 
greatest  variety  is  secured  by  difference  of  form,  of  color,  of  the 
relative  size  of  the  parts,  and  of  ornamentation.  In  form  the  baskets 
run  the  whole  gamut  as  among  the  Haida  and  Makah,  guided  by  the 
maker's  fancy  and  the  demands  of  trade.  These  Indians  all  live  on  the 
border  of  civilization  and  derive  a  large  revenue  from  the  sale  of  their 
wares.  The  colors  are  of  native  manufacture— red,  yellow,  blue, 
green,  alternating  with  the  natural  color  of  the  wood.  To  begin  with 
the  rudest,  let  us  take  a  dozen  or  sixteen  strips  of  paper  half  an  inch 
wide  and  cross  them  so  as  to  have  one-half  perpendicular  to  the  other 
half,  woven  in  checker  at  the  center  and  extending  to  form  the  equal 
arms  of  a  cross.  Bend  up  these  arms  perpendicular  with  the  woven 
checker  and  pass  a  continuous  splint  similar  to  the  framework  round 
and  round  in  a  continuous  coil  from  the  bottom  to  the  top.  Fit  a 
hoop  of  wood  to  the  top,  bend  down  the  upright  splints  over  this,  and 
sew  the  whole  together  with  a  whipping  of  splint,  and  you  will  have 
the  type  basket.  (See  figs.  9  and  10  on  Plate  119.)  Now,  by  varying 
the  width  of  the  splint  used  to  cover  the  sides  a  great  difference  of 
appearance  is  secured.  The  complete  operation  among  the  Menomi- 
nees  was  studied  out  by  W.  J.  Hoffman/'  and  will  be  seen  in  tigs. 
110  to  114.  In  the  National  Museum  are  baskets  made  of  uniformly 
cut  splints  not  over  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch  in  width. 

Finally,  the  Algonkin,  as  well  as  the  Southern  Indians,  have  learned 
to  decorate  baskets  with  a  great  variety  of  rolls,  looking  much  like 
the  napkins  on  the  table  of  a  hotel.  The  weaver  draws  a  splint  under 
the  warp  stick,  gives  it  a  turn  up  and  down,  or  two  turns  in  different 
directions,  and  draws  the  loose  end  tightly  under  the  next  warp  stick 
but  one.  This  operation  is  repeated,  forming  around  the  basket  one 
or  more  rows  of  projecting  ornaments.  Morgan  bears  testimony  to 
the  skill  of  the  Iroquois  women  in  the  art.6 

The  basket  woman  at  her  work  sits  upon  the  ground  in  front  of  her 
lodge,  or  frequently  of  a  little  booth  or  shelter— the  first  step  in  the 

« Fourteenth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  1896,  p.  260. 
''The  League  of  the  Iroquois,  1851,  pp.  vi-55. 


374  REPOKT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

evolution  of  the  artist's  studio.  The  materials  which  she  gathered 
long  ago  with  much  pains,  and  has  been  hoarding  up,  are  within  easy 
reach.  Her  hands  and  her  teeth  are  both  available  in  her  work,  aided 
by  only  a  small  supply  of  tools.  A  number  of  Indian  women  at  work 
will  be  seen  in  different  connections  throughout  this  paper. 

Plate  120  shows  Caroline  Masta,  an  Abenaki  Indian  woman  from 
Pierreville,  Canada,  seated  in  her  humble  laboratory  at  Belmar,  New 
Jersey.  Her  materials  are  of  black  ash  (Fraxinus  nigra)  and  sweet  grass 
(Savastana  odorata).  The  former  has  been  worked  out  by  machinery 
in  Canada,  and  is  piled  up  around  her;  the  latter  is  gathered  and 
braided  by  her  relatives,  and  sent  to  her  all  ready  for  the  last  step 
in  manufacture.  This  Indian  woman  conducts  a  thriving  business, 
not  being  able  to  make  up  ware  as  fast  as  there  is  demand  for  it. 
Specimens  of  her  work  are  shown  in  Plate  119,  photographed  by 
Herbert  B.  Rowland. 

To  illustrate  more  fully  the  survival  of  the  old  art  in  the  new  era, 
Plate  121  represents  three  Chippewa  women  near  Saginaw,  Michigan, 
making  splint  baskets.  They  are  seated  no  longer  in  the  midst  of 
wretchedness,  but  in  an  apple  orchard.  The  clothesline  and  the  recep 
tacles  filled  with  fruit  mark  the  changed  life.  It  will  be  noticed,  also, 
that  the  woman  on  the  left  is  using  for  her  splints  a  gauge  set  with 
metal  blades.  Indeed,  the  broad  strips  lying  on  the  ground  were 
worked  out  by  machinery.  Checkerwork  and  wickerwork  are  the 
only  forms  of  technic  practiced  by  these  Chippewas.  It  will  not  be 
assumed  by  anyone  that  the  improvement  in  environment  has  re-* 
dounded  to  the  benefit  of  the  savage  art.  The  baskets  are  the  com 
mon  frame  ware,  and  often  the  best  of  them  bear  no  comparison  in 
refinement  with  the  work  of  their  most  savage  sisters  on  the  west 
coast.  Photographed  by  Harlan  I.  Smith. 

The  acme  of  the  northern  Algonkin  weaving  is  in  twilled  matting. 
The  operation,  technically,  is  just  on  the  border  between  free-hand 
plaiting  and  loom  work.  Plate  122  is  a  mat  plaited  by  a  Chippewa 
squaw,  about  50  years  old,  at  Grand  Marais,  Minnesota.  It  is  of  cedar 
bast  made  in  strips  a  quarter  of  an  inch  wide,  and  is  in  three  colors- 
one  the  natural  tinge  of  the  material  and  the  other  two  dyed.  The 
interesting  features  are,  first,  that  the  weaving  is  done  from  below 
upward,  as  in  the  Haida  basketry  and  in  the  work  carried  on  by 
Virginia  Indians  in  the  days  of  John  Smith. 

A  small  rod  or  stiff  cord  of  bark  is  suspended  Irv  means  of  eight 
loops  from  a  pole  resting  on  two  forked  sticks.  This  is  to  give  free 
motion  to  the  woman's  hands.  Over  this  the  warp  strings  are  sus 
pended  freely.  The  Chilkat  blanket  weaver,  also,  as  will  be  seen,  has 
no  other  machinery.  For  a  few  rows  the  weaving  is  simple  checker- 
work  of  the  plainest  kind,  and  then  begins  a  series  of  twilled  patterns 
over  two  and  under  two.  But  even  this  simplest  technic  so  lends 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  375 

itself  to  charming  effects  of  light  and  shade  that  there  is  not  a  monot 
onous  square  inch  on  the  surface.  Another  band  of  plain  weaving  is 
followed  by  zigzag  and  angular  work,  inclosing  lines  and  squares, 
giving  birth  to  a  very  pleasing  effect.  Some  of  the  oldest  pictures 
preserved  in  the  early  chronicles  of  the  Algonkin  Indians,  to  whom 
the  Chippewa  belong,  show  them  weaving  in  exactly  the  same  fashion. 

The  mat  described  above  was  made  for  Capt.  R.  D.  Gaillard, 
U.  S.  A.,  in  a  single  day,  the  work  beginning  at  9  o'clock  in  the  morn 
ing  and  the  finished  product  being  delivered  2  miles  away  at  4  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon.  It  is  6  feet  5  inches  long  and  4  feet  5  inches  wide. 

The  Menomini  Indians  of  the  Algonquian  family,  living  in  northern 
Wisconsin,  are  quite  expert  in  various  forms  of  basket  work  and  hand 
weaving.  Mats  are  woven  from  the  leaves  of  rushes,  flags  or  cat 
tails,  and  cedar  bark.  They  are  for  roofing  temporary  structures, 
such  as  medicine  lodges,  for  partitions,  floor  mats  and  wrappings,  and 
for  various  purposes  in  the  canoes.  The  leaves  and  stems  are  strung 


FIG.  110. 

ASH  LOG  FOR  MAKING  SPLINTS. 
Menomini  Indians. 
After  W.  J.  Hoffman. 


together  by  means  of  threads  made  of  bass  wood  fiber.  In  this  they 
imitate  a  kind  of  textile  well  distributed  throughout  North  America 
formerly. 

The  mats  shown  on  Plates  21,  22,  and  23  of  Dr.  Walter  J.  Hoff 
mann's  paper  a  on  this  tribe  are  made  from  the  inner  bark  of  the  cedar, 
cut  in  strips  averaging  one-half  inch  in  width,  in  mixed,  twilled,  and 
checker  weaving,  which,  combined  with  the  native  color  of  the  material 
and  dyed  strips,  produce  the  greatest  variety  of  diaper  patterns.  They 
do  not  differ  essentially  from  Captain  Gaillard's  mat  just  described. 

The  baskets  of  the  Menominees  resemble  those  of  the  eastern  Cana 
dian  Indians.  A  log  of  elm  wood  is  beaten  until  the  space  between 
the  annual  layers  of  growth  is  destroyed;  the  thin  strips  are  then 
pulled  off,  cut  to  a  uniform  width,  and  scraped  as  smooth  as  possible. 
At  present  gauges  of  steel  are  used  for  the  purpose.  The  weaving  is 
done  in  checker,  twilled,  and  wicker  work.  A  section  of  the  beaten 
log,  showing  the  annual  layers  loosened,  the  mallet  of  wood,  and  the 
modern  knife,  resembling  the  " man's  knife"  throughout  all  the  north 
ern  tribes,  are  shown  in  figs.  110  to  114.  For  the  finer  kinds  of  bag- 

«  Fourteenth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  1896,  p.  260. 


376 


KEPOKT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 


ging  the  inner  bark  of  the  young  sprouts  of  basswood  is  employed. 
It  is  removed  in  sheets  and  boiled  in  water  with  a  quantity  of  lye. 
This  softens  the  fiber  and  prepares  for  the  next  process,  which  con 
sists  in  pulling  bunches  of  the  boiled  bark  forward  and  backward 
through  a  hole  in  the  shoulder  blade  of  the  deer.  The 
fiber  is  twisted  into  yarn  and  made  into  cord  or  twine 
by  winding  on  the  thigh  with  the  palm  of  the  hand. 
This  advance  in  the  preparation  of  the  textile  elements 
paves  the  way  for  twined  weaving. 

Fig.  1,  Plate  123,  is  an  example  of  hexagonal  weaving 
in  a  Mackenzie  River  snowshoe  in  which 
the  vertical  elements  answering  to  warps 
are  crossed  and  not  interlaced,  and  the 
fabric  is  bound  together  by  the  weaving 
in  and  out  of  a  single  rawhide  thong.  Fig. 
2,  on  the  same  plate,  illustrates  the  next 
step  in  this  weaving,  and  is  suggestive  of 
a  feature  in  the  twilled  basketry  taken  from 
graves  in  a  cemetery  at  Ancon,  Peru, 
namely,  the  method  by  which  a  bar  of  the 
snowshoe  frame  enters  into  the  weaving  and 
widens  the  meshes.  Most  beautiful  effects 
WOODEN  MALLET  are  produced  on  the  surface  of  these  snow- 
shoes  by  the  different  methods  of  adminis 
tering  the  warp.  This  has  been  carefully 
worked  out  by  John  Murdoch  in  his  paper  upon  the 
Eskimo  of  Point  Barrow,  Alaska/'  and  is  referred  to 
here  simply  to  show  how  the  methods  of  weaving  in 
basketry  are  to  be  seen  in  other  materials  for  other 
purposes. 

In  fig.  3,  same  plate,  the  warps  at  certain  points  in 
the  manipulation  are  twisted  in  pairs  about  each  other,  a 
technical  process  in  vogue  throughout  middle  America, 
beginning  as  far  north  as  the  Mohave  country  in  south 
ern  Arizona.  It  might  be  called  the  first  step  in  lace 
making.  Fig.  4,  same  plate,  introduces  another  element 
of  complexity  wherein  the  warp  elements  instead  of  being 
twisted  around  each  other  are  wrapped  once  or  twice 
about  the  weft,  so  that  the  primitive  lace  work  is  effected 
both  vertically  and  horizontally. 

Charles  C.  Willoughby,  of  the  Peabody  Museum,  Cambridge,  Massa 
chusetts,  is  of  the  opinion  that  coiled  basketry  was  used  among  the 
Ojibwa  Indians  (Chippewa)  on  the  Great  Lakes  before  contact  with  the 


FIG.  111. 


FOR  LOOSENIN 
SPLINTS. 


FIG.  112. 

BASKET- MAKER'S 
KNIFE  OF  NA 
TIVE  WORK 
MANSHIP. 


«  Ninth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  1892,  pp.  342-352. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  377 

whites,  and  mentions  very  old  specimens  now  in  the  possession  of  that 
museum,  and  others  have  been  seen  in  private  collections.  The  founda 
tion  coils  are  of  sweet  grass  and  about  one-quarter  of  an  inch  in  diam 
eter.  In  some  very  old  specimens  the  sewing  is  done  with  looped 
stitches,  being  continuous  from  the  edge  toward  the  center  of  the  basket 
and  not  following  the  coils,  as  is  usual.  He  also  finds  the  following 
references  to  old  basket  work  of  the  New  England  Indians.  (See  Plate 
124.)  Gookin  is  quoted,  writing  in  1674,  with  the  following  words: 

Several  sorts  of  baskets,  great  and  small,  some  of  them  hold  4  bushels  or  more, 
and  so  on  downward  to  a  pint.  *  *  '•  Some  of  these  baskets  are  made  of  rushes 
and  some  of  bents  (coarse  grass),  others  of  maize  husks,  others  of  a  kind  of  silk 
grass,  others  of  a  kind  of  wild  hemp,  and  some  of  bark  of  trees.  Many  of  these  are 
very  neat  and  artificial,  with  the  portraitures  of  birds,  beasts,  fishes,  and  flowers  upon 
them  in  colors. 

The  soldiers  under  Captain  Underbill,  after  destroying  the  Pequot 
fort  in  Connecticut  in  1637,  brought  back  with  them  "  several  delight 
ful  baskets."  Brereton  (1602)  found  baskets  of  twigs  "  not  unlike  our 
osier."  Champlain  saw  corn  stored  in  "  great  grass  sacks."  Josselyn 


FIG,  11:5. 
COIL  OF  BASKET  STRIPS. 


writes,  "  Baskets,  bags,  and  mats,  woven  with  bark  of  the  lime  tree 
and  rushes  of  several  kinds,  d}red  as  before,  some  black,  blue,  red, 
yellow."  In  1620  the  Pilgrims  found  on  a  cache  at  Cape  Cod  "a 
great  new  basket,  round  and  narrow  at  the  top  and  containing  3  or  4 
bushels  of  shelled  corn,  with  36  goodly  ears  unshelled."  The  New 
England  Indians  were  probably  not  less  expert  basket  makers  than 
other  tribes  to  the  west  and  south.  Does  not  the  fact  that  the  three 
distinct  forms  of  weaving — twined,  checker,  and  coiled — still  found 
among  the  Ojibwas  seem  to  indicate  a  survival  of  these  types  from 
prehistoric  times  all  over  the  great  Algonkin  area?  A  few  years  back 
this  type  of  coiled  work  was  more  in  vogue  than  at  present.  The 
next  specimen  described  will  take  the  reader  a  long  way  from  the 
Great  Lakes.  (C.  C.  Willoughby.) 

Plate  125  shows  the  detail  of  a  flat  coiled  basket  of  the  Eskimo  about 
Cumberland  Inlet,  eastern  Canada.  The  foundation  likewise  contains 
a  bundle  of  straws,  but  badly  put  together  and  sewed  with  sinew 
thread,  the  stitches  being  wide  apart  and  caught  beneath  a  few  straws 
of  the  preceding  coil.  The  bottom  is  flat  and  the  walls  drawn  in  so  as 


378 


REPOKT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 


to  give  a  compressed  shape.  This  interesting  specimen  has  been  many 
years  in  the  National  Museum  and  is  credited  to  Capt.  C.  F.  Hall,  the 
Arctic  explorer.  It  may  be  compared  with  others  of  the  same  type 
from  the  southern  Canadian  border.  Catalogue  No.  10203;  height,  If 
inches.  A  much  later  specimen  also  from  the  Eskimo  is  shown  in  the 
next  plate. 

Plate  126  is  openwork  coiled  basketry  of  the  Eskimo  of  Davis  Inlet, 
eastern  Canada.  The  foundation  is  of  straw  and  the  sewing  is  done 
in  the  same  material,  the  stitches  merely  interlocking.  The  noteworthy 
characteristic  of  the  basket  is  the  slight  amount  of  sewing  in  certain 
portions.  The  bottom  is  not  unlike  the  work  of  the  western  Eskimo, 
and,  indeed,  is  a  typical  illustration.  There  is  a  little  splitting  of 
stitches,  but  probably  not  designed.  On  the  sides  the  openwork  is 

produced  by  wrapping  the  foundation  with 
the  straw  for  one-half  an  inch  and  then 
sewing,  as  in  ordinary  coiled  work,  the 
angles  to  the  coil  below.  This  may  be 
compared  in  the  wrapping  with  the  open 
work  coiled  basketry  of  the  Kern  County 
Indians  in  California.  (See  fig.  196.) 
Sewing  of  exactly  the  same  style  is  to 
be  found  in  northern  Europe,  and  the 
suggestion  is  made  that  this  particular 
method  among  the  eastern  Eskimo  is  an 
acculturation.  To  come  nearer  home, 
coiled  basketry  in  rafia  that  is  taught  in 
the  schools  is  largely  in  this  wrapped  and 
sewed  method.  The  Eskimo  of  this  area 
were  for  centuries  in  contact  with  Norse 
settlers.  This  specimen  is  8i  inches 
in  length,  and  was  collected  by  L.  M. 
Turner. 

Plate  127  gives  the  profile  and  inside  view  of  a  shallow  coiled  basket 
tray  of  the  Comanche  Indians,  living  on  the  plains  east  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  used  principally  in  gambling.  The  foundation  is  of  rods 
and  splints,  the  sewing  with  leaf  of  yucca  ( Yucca  arkansana).  Especial 
attention  is  invited  to  the  furcate  stitches,  designedly  and  symmetric 
ally  split.  This  technic  relegates  the  basket  to  the  Ute  or  Shoshonean 
area,  west  of  the  Rockies.  The  Comanches  belong  to  the  Shoshonean 
family.  Its  diameter  is  9  inches. 

In  the  National  Museum  are  four  small,  dish-shaped,  coiled  gambling 
baskets,  Catalogue  Nos.  6342,  8427,  and  153932,  gathered  from  the  Rees 
or  Caddoan  Indians,  the  other  one  from  the  Mandans,  who  are  Siouan. 
These  baskets  are  made  from  willow,  on  a  two-rod  foundation,  but 
roughly  assembled  and  sewed  with  splints  of  the  same  material.  The 


FIG. 114. 
FINISHED  WICKER  BASKET. 


ABOKIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKFTKY.  379 

borders  arc  all  well  done  in  false  braid.  No  more  interesting  speci 
mens  are  to  be  found  in  this  collection. 

There  are  four  other  gambling  baskets  of  the  same  type,  but  of 
different  material,  and  are  fairly  made.  The  foundation  is  a  single 
stem  of,  perhaps,  willow,  the  sewing  in  the  leaves  of  yucca  ( Yucca 
arkansana).  Catalogue  Nos.  152802,  152803,  165246,  and  165765,  and 
gathered  from  the  Cheyenne,  Arapaho,  and  Kiowan  Indians  in  Indian 
Territory. 

Finally,  modern  pedagogy  has  found  in  the  long  leaves  of  the  Geor 
gia  pine  a  material  by  means  of  which  poor  people  may  weave  a  little 
of  the  sense  of  beauty  into  their  lives. 

Plate  128  is  a  covered  basket,  made  near  Augusta,  Georgia,  from 
the  leaves  of  the  pine  by  a  native  Georgia  woman,  under  the  instruc 
tion  and  patronage  of  Mrs.  Percy  H.  Babcock,  of  Hudson,  Ohio.  The 
sewing  material  is  tough,  brown  linen  thread.  The  interesting  charac 
teristic  in  this  specimen  is  the  undesigned  resemblance  between  the 
stitching  and  that  on  the  Hudson  Bay  Eskimo  specimen,  as  well  as 
the  old  Chippewa  specimen  in  the  Peabody  Museum,  in  Cambridge, 
Massachusetts. 

Coiled  work,  as  was  shown  in  the  chapter  on  weaving,  changes  to 
lace  work  by  omitting  the  hard  foundation.  In  this  Eastern  Area  two 
witnesses,  far  apart  in  time,  are  here  to  testify  to  the  widespread 
ancientness  of  a  coiled  work  now  universal  in  tropical  America. 

Figs,  a  and  £,  Plate  129,  represent  the  method  of  weaving  in  the 
game  bags,  or  muskemoots,  of  the  Dog  Rib  and  other  Athapascan 
Indians  in  northwestern  Canada  for  domestic  purposes.  These  tribes 
and  their  relatives  in  central  Alaska  use  the  birch-bark  vessels  for  all 
sorts  of  domestic  purposes.  For  transportation  they  do  not  make 
regular  baskets,  but  buckskin  wallets,  in  which  a  process  of  coiled 
weaving  now  to  be  described  is  employed.  The  sides  and  borders  of 
the  game  bags  are  of  dressed  skin  of  moose  and  reindeer.  For  the 
body  of  the  bag  the  same  material  is  cut  into  fine  string  and  rolled. 
This  material  is  called  "  babiche."  It  is  quite  evident  that  before  the 
introduction  of  the  steel  knife  this  material  was  much  coarser,  as  ma}7 
be  known  not  only  from  the  game  bags,  but  also  from  the  snowshoes. 
By  examining  fig.  l>  a  small  section  from  one  of  the  muskemoots  will 
show  how  the  work  is  done.  The  border  of  the  bag  on  its  lower  edge 
is  pierced  at  equal  distances  for  the  reception  of  the  first  row  of  weav 
ing.  Through  these  holes  the  babiche  is  strung  by  half  hitches,  or 
what  is  called  "buttonhole  stitch."  The  work  proceeds  in  the  same 
manner  round  and  round  until  it  is  desirable  to  make  a  variation  in  the 
technical  process.  In  the  middle  of  the  drawing  it  will  be  seen  how 
this  is  done.  The  end  of  the  babiche  is  carried  through  a  stitch  in  the 
row  above  and  twisted  one  and  a  half  times  about  itself.  As  many 
turns  as  is  desirable  can  be  made,  and  thus  the  ornamentation  may  be 


380  EEPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

varied.  This  method  of  coiled  work,  the  first  described  in  the  table 
of  methods  (page  248),  does  not  occur  again  among  the  Indians  until 
the  borders  of  Mexico  are  reached,  where  the  tribes  in  their  carrying 
nets,  and  farther  south  in  their  wallets  and  hammocks,  employ  precisely 
the  same  method  of  workmanship.  This  specimen,  Catalogue  No.  2023, 
with  several  others  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  from  the  Dog  Rib 
Indians  of  northwestern  Canada,  was  collected  by  Bernard  R.  Ross. 

Warren  K.  Moorehead  found  examples  of  the  muskemoot  weaving 
in  the  Hopewell  mounds,  Ohio.  There  was  nothing  but  an  easy  por 
tage  here  and  there  to  hinder  passage  by  water  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Mackenzie  to  the  neighborhood  of  the  Hopewell  mounds.  Examples 
in  Peabody  Museum,  Massachusetts,  and  in  the  Field  Columbian, 
Chicago,  prove  the  identity  of  technic.  (See  figs.  115  and  116.) 


FIG.  115.  FIG.  116. 

COILED  BASKETRY.  COILED  BASKKTRY. 

Hopewell  Mound,  Ohio.  Hopewell  Mound,  Ohio. 

After  O.  C.  Willoughby,  Peabody  Museum.  After  O.  O.  Willoughby,  Peabody  Museum. 

There  is  a  general  impression  that  the  baskets  of  the  ordinary  soft 
character  described  were  used  by  these  eastern  peoples  in  the  manu 
facture  of  pottery  and  were  ruthlessly  destroyed  in  the  burning, 
but  Holmes's  investigations  tend  to  show  that  pliable  materials  had 
been  almost  exclusively  employed.  In  the  Pueblo  region  the  case  was 
quite  different,  though  there  is  no  evidence  of  the  burning  of  the 
basket. 

The  twined  wallets  or  other  fabrics  used  were  removed  before  the 
vessel  was  burned  or  even  dried.  In  many  cases  handles  and  orna 
ments  were  added  after  these  impressions  were  made,  also  incised 
designs  were  executed  in  the  soft  clay  after  the  removal  of  the  textile. 

It  is  quite  evident  that  textile  impressions  were  used  to  enhance  the 
beauty  of  the  vessel,  not  to  support  the  clay  in  process  of  construction. 

In  many  examples,  notably  the  salt  vessels  of  Saline  River,  Illinois, 
the  fabric  was  applied  after  the  vessel  was  finished,  inasmuch  as  the 
loose  threads  sag  or  festoon  toward  the  rim.  Simple  cord  markings 
arranged  to  form  patterns  have  been  employed  on  many  examples. 
And  in  those  cases  where  basketry  textile  was  pressed  on  the  surface 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  381 

it  was  not  the  common,  careless  weaving,  but  the  elegant  designs,  as 
will  be  seen  in  the  plates. 

The  textile  markings  on  pottery,  ancient  and  modern,  are  of  live 
classes: 

1.  Impressions  on  the  surface,   made    by  rigid   basketry,  used  in 
molding  and  modeling. 

2.  Impressions  of  pliable  fabrics  on  the  soft  clay. 

3.  Impressions  of    woven  textures   used  over  the  hand   or   on   a 
modeling  or  malleating  implement. 

4.  Impressions  of    cords  wrapped   about   modeling   or  malleating 
paddles  or  rocking  tools. 

5.  Impressions  of  bits  of  cords  or  other  textile  units,  singly  or  in 
groups,  applied  for  ornament  only,  and  so  arranged  as  to  give  textile- 
like  patterns.0 


FIG.  117. 

WICKERWORK  FROM  CAVE  IN  KENTUCKY. 
After  W.  H.  Holmes. 


If  the  reader  will  turn  to  the  classification  of  basket-making  meth 
ods  (p.  190),  it  will  be  noticed  that  many  of  these  are  to  be  found  in 
the  ancient  basket  ware  impressed  on  pottery  by  the  eastern  Indians. 
Referring  to  Professor  Holmes's  paper,  openwork  checker  weaving  is 
very  rare  among  impressions  on  clay.  Foster  illustrates  one  example 
on  pottery  from  a  mound  on  Great  Miami  River,  Butler  Count}^,  Ohio. 
Checkerwork  of  the  close  type,  on  the  other  hand,  was  practiced  in 
nearly  all  the  Atlantic  States,  upon  the  testimony  of  pottery  fragments. 

From  potsherds  found  in  the  State  of  New  York,  closely  packed 
checkerwork  patterns  have  been  copied.  Charred  fabrics  from 
mounds  in  Ohio  reveal  the  coarsest  kinds  of  oblique  checker  weaving. 
Holmes  illustrates  an  example  in  which  the  oblique  work  imitates 
mat  plaiting  without  a  frame,  worked  from  a  corner.  The  selvage 
and  the  weft  cross  the  texture  obliquely.6 

«  W.  H.  Holmes,  American  Anthropologist  (N.  S.),  Ill,  1901,  pp.  397-403. 

&  See  Thirteenth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  1896,  pi.  vn,  fig.  c. 


382 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    3902. 


Not  only  checkerwork,  but  twilled  work  in  cane  and  in  twine  and 
wickerwork  in  soft  material  have  been  brought  to  light  by  cave  explo 
rations  in  the  Western  and  Southern  States.  In  the  Third  Annual 
Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology  Holmes  figures  an  example  of 
wickerwork  in  soft  materials  from  a  cave  in  Kentucky.  (See  figs.  117, 
118,  and  119.)" 

To  show  the  distribution  of  this  ancient  style  of  weaving,  reference 
is  here  made  to — 

1.  Coarse  oblique  checker  twilled  work  from  Ohio,  made  of  twine. 

2.  In  the  same  volume  (tig.  12)  is  shown  a  fragment  of  twilled  cane 
matting  from  Petite  Anse  Island,  Louisiana.     It  has  been  preserved 
all  these  years  by  salt.     (See  fig.  126.) 


FIG. 118. 

CHARRED  FABRIC  FROM  MOUND. 
AftcrW.  H.  Holmes. 


FIG.  119. 

CHARRED  FABRIC  FROM  MOUND. 
After  W.  H.  Holmes. 


3.  Plate  2  in  Holmes's  report  shows  a  mat  of  split  cane  from  a  rock 
shelter  on  Cliff  Creek,  Morgan  County,  Tennessee.      It  is  6  feet  6 
inches  by  3  feet  4  inches.      The  variety  of  twilled  effects  and  the 
patterned  border  leave  nothing  to  be  desired. 

4.  In  a  mound  near  Augusta,  Georgia,  a  fragment  of  twilled  matting 
was  found  attached  to  the  surface  of  a  bit  of  copper,  Holmes's  fig.  11. 
The  interesting  feature  of  this  example  is  that  on  the  side  shown  the 
warp  passes  over  one  and  under  four,  the  weft,  over  four  and  under 
one.     His  fig.  15,  from  Alabama,  is  similar,  only  the  formula  is  three 
and  one. 

5.  Fig.  14  is  from  an  impression  of  twilled  weaving  on  u  fragment 
of  pottery  found  in  Polk  County,  Tennessee.     Three  characteristics  of 
this  fragment  claim  attention.     The  warp  is  of  fine  twine,  the  weft  of 


«  Thirteenth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethhology,  1896,  pi.  vu,  figs,  c  and  d. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


383 


coarse  yarn;  the  work  is  over  two,  both  in  warp  and  weft;  the  weav 
ing  is  oblique.  The  effect  of  this  technic  is  pleasing  and  unique,  the 
components  being  bands  of  close  work  alternating  with  bands  of  open 
work,  made  up  of  sloping  elements  giving  great  variety  to  unity. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  checker  and  the  twilled  work  in  ancient 
eastern  North  America  had  about  the  same  distribution  as  now. 

Twined  weaving  was  common  throughout  the  Middle  and  Eastern 
States  of  the  Union  in  prehistoric  times.  Fabrics  of  this  class  were 
employed  by  the  ancient  potters  in  nearly  all  of  the  States.  Every 
variety  of  twined  weaving  known  to  the  modern  Indian  was  practiced 


FIG.  120. 

TWINED  F1SHTRAP. 

Virginia  Indians. 
After  Thomas  Hariot. 

by  the  old-time  people — the  mound-builders  especially.  Holmes 
figures  examples  from  pottery  in  Tennessee,  Georgia,  Arkansas,  Illi 
nois,  Missouri,  and  Iowa.  Even  the  intricate  and  delicate  forms  of 
twined  weaving  described  on  page  234  as  zig-zag  or  divided  warp  and 
crossed  warp  were  well  known. 

The  ancient  pottery  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  furnishes  many  ex 
amples  of  this,  as  will  be  seen  in  Holmes's  papers." 

Traces  of  wattled  work  are  found  in  the  mounds  of  the  Lower  Mis- 

«  Prehistoric  Textile  Fabrics  of  the  United  States,  Third  Annual  Report  of  the 
Bureau  of  Ethnology,  1884;  Prehistoric  Textile  Art  of  Eastern  United  States,  the 
same,  Thirteenth  Annual  Report,  1896;  and,  A  Study  of  the  Textile  Art,  etc.,  Sixth 
Annual  Report,  1888. 


384        '  REPOET    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

sissippi  Valley,  where  imprints  of  the  interlaced  canes  occur  in  the 
baked  clay  plaster  with  which  the  dwellings  were  finished.  In  the 
same  connection  John  Smith,  Butel-Dumont,  Du  Pratz,  Lafitau,  and 
John  Lawson  arc  quoted  on  the  use  of  wattling-  for  houses,  inclosure, 
biers,  and  burial  platforms.  A  fish  trap  with  long  wings  done  in 
twined  wattling  is  figured  in  Hariot  and  here  reproduced  from  Holmes. 
(See  fig.  120.) 

The  illustration  shows  a  warp  of  stakes  driven  into  the  bottom  of 
the  stream  close  enough  together  to  let  the  small  fry  pass  through 
and  to  offer  no  impediment  to  the  flow  of  water.  Brush  or  poles  con 
stitute  the  warp.  The  rivers  of  the  Atlantic  coast  teemed  with  shad, 
herring,  rockfish,  sturgeon,  and  more,  in  the  spring,  and  it  is  per 
mitted  to  infer  that  twined  fish  traps  were  universal  there. 

Plate  130,  thanks  to  the  preserving  care  of  potsherds,  introduces  the 
reader  to  the  old  basket  makers  of  no  one  knows  how  many  centuries 
ago.  From  three  fragments,  selected  out  of  myriads  and  shown  in 
the  plate  on  the  right  hand,  the  casts  on  the  left  being  in  plaster,  one 
might  think  himself  studying  specimens  from  the  Aleutian  Islands  or 
the  Great  Interior  Basin.  The  figure  at  the  bottom  is  in  plain  open 
work  of  twined  weaving,  the  material  being  a  soft  bast,  perhaps  of 
native  hemp.  Hundreds  of  wallets  indistinguishable  in  texture  from 
this  are  now  brought  from  around  Bristol  Bay,  Alaska.  The  figure 
in  the  middle  is  openwork  twined  weaving  in  diagonal  pattern.  The 
warp  strands  are  in  pairs  and  flexible,  making  the  interstices  triangu 
lar  and  giving  to  the  weaving  the  appearance  of  "  fagoting."  If 
the  weft  were  forced  close  together,  the  texture  would  be  the  common 
twilled  work  of  the  Pacific  slope.  The  upper  figures  are  also  twined, 
but  of  rarer  style,  the  warp  being  set  diagonally.  This  figure  is 
worthy  of  note  in  two  respects.  The  workmanship  in  twisting  of  the 
threads  is  superb.  One  would  have  to  look  a  long  time  through  a  col 
lection  of  twined  weaving  of  the  present  day  to  see  threads  near  so 
fine.  Not  until  the  outermost  island  of  the  Aleutian  chain  was  reached 
would  the  specimen  appear.  The  other  characteristic  is  the  sloping 
warp,  a  thing  of  rare  occurrence  in  twined  weaving. 

A  further  glance  at  basketry  technic  preserved  in  impressions  on 
pottery  and  in  caves  shows  plain  twined  weave,  open  or  closed,  with 
vertical  or  oblique  warp;  twilled  weaving  in  twined  weft  and  twined 
weaving  with  zigzag  warp;  three-ply  twined  weaving,  and  a  style  of 
twined  work,  which  for  exhausting  possibilities  of  variety  in  warp 
treatment  will  vie  with  any  modern  example.  The  material  is  good 
twine,  the  warp  is  administered  in  groups  of  sixes,  oblique  toward  the 
right.  The  weft  is  a  two-ply  twine  which  in  crossing  the  warp  takes 
in  a  strand  at  each  half  turn  and  is  twisted  tightly  in  the  open  spaces. 
The  pattern  is  varied  by  bands  of  close  weft  in  three  rows,  above  and 
below  which  the  groups  of  six  warp  strands  are  split  into  threes. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


385 


FIG.  121. 

TWINED  AVEAVE  FROM  ANCIENT  POTTERY. 

Tennessee. 
After  W.  H.  Holmes. 


Attention  is  called  to  Plate  8  in  the  Thirteenth  Bureau  Report,  where 
is  shown  ancient  twined  work  preserved  by  being  wrapped  about 
copper  celts."  (See  figs.  121-122;  also  Plate  107.) 

Plate  131  represents  an  open  twined  wallet  of  the  Ojibwa  Indians 
(Algonquian  stock),  at  Angwassag  Village,  near  St.  Charles,  Saginaw 
County,  Michigan. 
The  native  name  is 
Na  Moot  and  it  is 
made  from  the  inner 
bark  of  the  slippery 
elm  ( TJlmus  ameri- 
can  a] .  Other  bags  of 
the  same  technique 
in  the  U.  S.  National 
Museum  are  from  the 
elm  bark  associated 
with  red  and  black 
yarn.  The  technic  of 
these  wallets  is  so  in 
teresting  in  the  sur 
vival  of  ancient  weaves  that  they  justify  a  special  description.  The 
weft  is  plain  twined  weaving;  all  the  ornamentation,  therefore,  is  effected 
by  means  of  the  warp,  which  is  partly  vertical,  but  more  of  the  zigzag 
type  seen  in  many  Aleutian  Island  wallets.  In  all  of  the  specimens 
examined  the  warp  is  made  up  of  twine,  partly  in  the  material  of  the 

weft  and  partly  in  colored  }Tarns. 
The  diameter  of  the  warp  twine, 
especially  the  yarns,  seems  to  be 
greater  than  the  length  of  the 
twists  in  the  weft,  so  that  there  is 
a  crowding  which  brings  one  color 
to  the  front  and  leaves  another 
color  inside — that  is,  the  figures 
that  are  brown  on  the  outside  will 
appear  in  yarn  on  the  inside  and 
the  reverse.  To  be  more  explicit, 
beginning  at  the  lower  edge  of  any 
one  of  these  wallets  the  warp  may 
be  in  pairs,  the  elements  of  which 
separate  and  come  together  alternately  in  the  rows  of  weaving.  On 
the  outside  of  the  bag  two  elm-bark  warp  strands  will  be  included 
and  appear;  in  the  next  half  twine  two  yarns  will  be  included  and 
show  on  the  inside  of  the  wallet.  After  this  zigzag  process  goes  on 

«  Thirteenth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  1896,  figs.  21-26,  and 
plates  vii  and  vm. 

NAT    MTIS    1902 25 


FIG.  122. 
TWINED  WEAVE  FROM  ANCIENT 

Tennessee. 
After  W.  H.  Holmes. 


386  KEPOET    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

for  a  short  distance  the  weaver  changes  her  plan,  omits  the  bark  or 
the  yarn  warp  altogether,  but  continues  the  twining  process,  catching 
the  warp  in  every  other  half  turn  of  the  twine.  Again,  there  will 
be  a  row  or  two  of  ordinary  twined  weaving  with  straight  warp,  when 
she  returns  to  her  zigzag  method,  covering  the  entire  surface  there 
with.  At  the  top  of  the  bag  an  inch  or  less  of  plain  twined  weaving 
in  which  the  warps  are  vertical  and  included  in  pairs  brings  her  to  the 
outer  border,  where  all  the  warps  are  twisted  together  and  turned  back 
to  be  fastened  off  in  the  texture.  In  an  old  example  in  the  National 
Museum  long,  cut  fringes  are  sewed  to  the  upper  margin  and  to  the 
sides  of  the  bag. 

The  photographs  of  the  twined  bag  shown  in  Plate  131  were  taken 
by  William  Orchard,  of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  and 
presented  to  the  National  Museum  by  Harlan  I.  Smith.  On  one  side 
a  mountain  lion  and  the  other  an  eagle  with  geometric  figures  are 
shown  in  black.  The  technic  of  this  particular  example  from  left 
to  right  Avould  be  five  vertical  rows  of  plain  twined  weaving;  nine 
rows  of  mixed  warp,  but  plain  weaving;  a  course  of  braided 
warp  in  which  the  four  elements  of  two  rows  of  warp  are  braided 
together  and  included  in  the  twine.  On  the  other  side  is  a  similar 
administration.  The  middle  portion  shows  zigzag  twined  weaving, 
figured.  Above  this  is  a  row  of  three-ply  twined  weaving,  as 
among  many  of  the  Western  tribes;  above  this  three  rows  of  plain 
twined  weaving  in  openwork  including  all  the  warps.  At  the  top  the 
warps  are  twisted  and  fastened  into  the  texture.  It  must  be  clearly 
understood  that  the  figures  which  show  black  on  the  outside — that  is, 
the  eagle  and  the  lion — will  be  white  on  the  inside,  necessarily.  The 
colors  used  in  the  small  specimen  of  the  National  Museum  are  the  nat 
ural  color  of  the  bark  mixed  with  brown,  black,  and  blue  yarns.  The 
National  Museum  is  indebted  to  Andrew  John,  a  Seneca  Indian  of 
New  York,  for  a  number  of  specimens  of  modern  Iroquoian  twined 
ware  from  corn  husks. 

There  was  a  decided  lack  of  coiled  basketry  in  all  this  vast  region. 
Every  kind  of  hand- woven  ware  was  known.  Algonquian,  Iroquoian, 
Siouan,  and  Muskhogean  tribes  of  the  present,  and  all  the  cave-dwell 
ing,  mound-1  milding,  ancients,  seem,  so  far  as  the  evidence  points,  to 
have  known  little  of  coiling. 

From  this  hasty  survey  of  ancient  hand  weaving  in  basketry  and 
the  other  receptacles,  as  well  as  in  matting,  webbing,  sandals,  and 
such  products  of  the  textile  art  as  resemble  basketry,  it  is  now  allowed 
to  examine  their  modern  representatives  in  the  southern  portions  of 
the  same  area. 

In  the  States  of  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida, 
Alabama,  Mississippi,  and  Louisiana  are  many  Indians  still  living, 
remnants  of  theCherokees  (Iroquoian);  Choctaws,  Creeks,  Chickasaws, 
and  Seminoles  (Muskhogean),  and  the  almost  vanished  Attakapas  and 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


387 


b 

FIG.  123. 

DETAIL  OF  TWILLED    BASKKTRY   BORDER. 

Choctaw  Indians,  Louisiana. 
Cat.  No.  24143,  U.S.N.M.     Collected  by  Father  Roquet. 


Chetimachas.  Some  of  them  were  removed  fifty  years  ago  into  the 
Indian  Territory.  Through  the  lowlands  of  these  States  grow  the 
interminable  cane  brakes,  and  from  the  split  cane  all  these  tribes 
make  their  basketry.  They 
follow  the  twilled  pattern  of 
weaving.  Even  now  there 
ma}7  be  purchased  in  Mobile, 
New  Orleans,  and  other 
Southern  cities  little  baskets 
of  yellow,  red,  black,  and 
green  cane  woven  in  twill, 
crossing  with  the  woof  two 
or  more  warp  splints,  and 
managing  the  checks  so  as  to 
produce  diamonds  and  vari 
ous  zigzag  patterns  on  the 
outside.  The  Choctaws  make 
a  basket  oval  at  the  top  and 
pointed  below  for  presents, 
averring  that  this  shape  imitated  the  heart,  which  always  accompanies 
every  gift.  The  handles  of  their  basketry  are  very  clumsily  put  on, 
marring  greatly  the  appearance  of  the  otherwise  attractive  object. 

Often  in   weaving  two   thin 

•~l     p^H'i     n    rfcgin  strips  are  laid  together,  the  soft 

I /  sides  inward-     The  evident  mo- 

__n  LLB  I  1 1  r          tive  in  doubling  the  thin  strips 

is  to  have  both  sides  of  the  bas 
ket  or  mat  glossy  and  smooth. 
Further  on  it  will  be  noted  that 
in  twined  weaving,  where  the 
strands  of  the  weft  are  from 
split  roots,  both  sides  are  ren 
dered  smooth  by  revolving  each 
strand  half  a  turn  as  it  passes 
through  between  the  warp 
stems.  (See  p.  406.) 

Figs.  1^3  and  1:24  show  the 
detail  of  twilled  basketry  among 
the  Southern  tribes,  both  in  the 
coarser  and  finer  varieties.  In 
fig.  123,  a  and  J,  will  be  seen 
the  border.  Each  weft  strand  crosses  four  warp  strands.  In  this 
example  the  warp,  however,  does  not  cover  each  time  the  same  number 
of  weft  strands;  the  consequence  is  a  nearly  horizontal  diagonal  effect 
in  the  pattern.  To  form  the  border  a  few  of  the  warp  filaments  are 


FIG.  124. 

BORDER  OF  TWILLED  BASKETRY. 

Choctaw  Indians,  Louisiana. 
Cat.  No.  24143,  U.S.N.M.     Collected  by  Father  Roquet. 


388  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

bent  down  and  inclosed  in  a  wrapping  of  the  same  material.  Under 
neath  this  is  a  row  of  twined  weaving,  which  holds  in  place  those 
warp  elements  that  do  not  enter  into  the  texture.  A  much  neater 
example  of  work  of  this  kind  is  shown  in  the  next  figure,  where  the 
filaments  are  more  carefully  prepared  and  manipulated  and  the  border 
more  neatly  finished,  but  the  technical  process  is  the  same.  The  artistic 
effect  of  plain  twilled  work  is  shown  in  this  example. 

Fig.  124  exhibits  the  process  of  crossing  in  what  might  be  called 
diaper  or  figured  work.  The  effect  is  heightened  by  dyeing  black  one 
set  of  the  filaments,  either  warp  or  weft.  In  that  case  the  figures 
stand  out  most  prominently.  The  entire  effect  of  this  sort  of  weav 
ing,  however,  is  in  the  endless  combination  of  rectangles,  black  and 
white,  all  having  the  same  width  and  different  lengths. 

The  basket  shown  in  this  dissected  weaving  is  Choctaw,  Catalogue 
No.  24148,  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  collected  by  Father 
Roquet,  of  New  Orleans. 

Plates  132-183  represent  the  twilled  basketry  of  the  Chetimacha 
Indians,  Chetimachan  family,  who  have  their  home  on  Grande  River 
and  the  larger  part  in  Charenton,  St.  Marys  Parish.  The  name  is 
derived  from  the  Choctaw  words  tchuti,  "cooking  vessels,"  maska, 
" they  possess."  Mr.  Gatschet  in  1881  found  about  fifty  individuals 
still  living.  The  material  of  their  work  is  the  cane  (Arundinaria 
tccta)  and  all  of  their  weaving  is  in  the  twilled  style  of  technic. 

Compared  with  the  work  of  the  Choctaws  (Plate  134)  and  their 
neighbors,  the  Attakapa  (Plate  135),  it  is  more  picturesque  and  attrac 
tive,  the  colors  being  the  original  of  the  cane,  red  and  yellow.  Similar 
work  is  to  be  seen  in  the  northern  part  of  South  America,  especially 
in  Guiana.  The  interesting  feature  of  the  Attakapa  Aveaving  is  that 
frequently  the  specimens  have  the  appearance  of  being  double — that 
is,  both  the  outside  and  the  inside  of  the  receptacle  presenting  the 
small  surface  of  the  cane.  At  once  the  work  connects  itself  with  mat 
ting  found  in  the  caves  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee. 

Plate  133  represents  a  fine  collection  of  old  Chetimachas  in  the  col 
lection  of  Mrs.  Sidney  Bradford,  of  A  very  Parish,  Louisiana.  They 
should  be  examined  carefully,  since  the}r  were  posed  so  as  to  exhibit 
the  technic  of  the  various  parts. 

Plate  135  shows  a  small  number  of  twilled  basketry  made  by  the 
Attakapa  Indians  living  in  Calcasieu  Parish,  Louisiana.  They  are  the 
last  remnant  of  an  independent  linguistic  family  once  spread  south 
ward  along  the  Texan  coast.  The  baskets  are  made  from  the  stems  of 
the  cane.  The  outer  tough  layer  is  split  off  and  dyed  if  necessary.  It 
is  then  worked  into  twilled  ware,  which  by  the,  texture  and  variety  of 
colors  shows  elegant  designs. 

These  specimens,  Catalogue  Nos.  165735  to  l(>573t)  in  the  IT.  S. 
National  Museum,  were  collected  in  Louisiana  by  Mrs.  William  Pres 
ton  Johnston. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


889 


The  Cherokee  make  the  handsomest  clothes  baskets,  considering 
their  materials.  They  divide  large  swamp  canes  into  long,  thin,  nar 
row  splinters,  which  they  dye  for  several  colors,  and  manage  the 
workmanship  so  well  that  both  the  inside  and  outside  are  covered  with 
a  beautiful  variety  of  pleasing  figures;  and  though  for  the  space  of  2 
inches  below  the  upper  edge  of  each  basket  it  is  worked  into  one, 
through  the  other  parts  they  are  worked  asunder,  as  if  they  were  two 
joined  atop  by  some  strong  cement.  A  large  nest  consists  of  eight  or 
ten  baskets  contained  one  within  another.  Their  dimensions  are  dif 
ferent,  but  they  usually  make  the  outside  basket  about  a  foot  deep, 
a  foot  and  a  half  broad,  and 
almost  a  yard  long/' 

A  type  collection  of  this  ware 
was  made  for  the  National  Mu 
seum  by  James  Mooney/ 

Fig.  125  shows  one  of  the 
oldest  and  most  beautiful  bas 
kets  in  the  National  Museum, 
presented  by  Drs.  Gray  and 
Matthews,  of  the  Army.  Four 
bent  poles  constitute  the  frame 
work.  Those  at  the  sides  are 
10  inches  apart  at  the  top,  ±  at 
the  bottom,  and  are  quite  con 
cealed  in  the  structure.  The 
end  pair  cross  these  at  right 
angles  and  descend  6  inches  to 
afford  a  rest  for  the  load.  The 
carrying  strap  is  of  rawhide. 
The  weaving  is  in  twilled  work, 
with  diaper  patterns  made  in  nar 
row  strips  of  bark,  some  having 
their  outer,  some  their  inner 
surface  exposed. 

The  weaving  was  done  by  an  Cat  No  84340  u s NM  Collected  hv  Oray  and  Matthew9- 
Arikara  woman  in  Dakota. 

Now,  these  Indians  are  not  Sioux,  but  belong  to  the  Caddoan  family 
spread  over  Louisiana  and  Texas.  It  should  not  be  surprising,  there 
fore,  to  find  baskets  similar  to  those  of  the  Cherokees  and  the  Gulf 
tribes  in  their  hands. 

In  close  connection  with  wickerwork  and  checkerwork  is  twilled  or 
diagonal  technic  from  many  localities,  especially  in  the  South.  An  inter 
esting  example  is  illustrated  by  Holmes/'  the  two  elements,  the  warp 

"James  Adair,  History  of  the  American  Indians,  London,  1775,  p.  424. 
&  Nineteenth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  1900,  p.  176. 
^Third  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  1884,  p.  416,  fig.  98. 


FIG.  125. 

TWILLED   BASKET. 

Ankara  Indians. 
Cat.  No.  84340,  U.S.N.M.     Collected  by  (Ji 


390 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 


and  the  weft,  are  entirely  different  material,  one  a  finely  spun  thread, 
the  other  a  loose,  coarse  filament  several  times  wider  than  the  former, 
and  are  woven  together  in  the  ordinary  plan  of  under  two  and  over 
two,  and  yet  the  difference  in  the  width  and  tension  of  the  two  elements 
produces  a  most  charming-  effect  which  is  not  lost,  after  many  thousands 
of  3Tears,  in  the  cast  taken  from  the  surface  of  the  fragment.  (See  p.  225. ) 
An  example  of  matting,  also  illustrated  by  Holmes,  was  taken  from  a 
piece  of  pottery  found  in  Alabama.  It  is  worked  in  the  diagonal  style, 
but  on  one  side  the  warp  passes  over  one  and  under  three,  and,  conse 
quently,  though  the  matting  was  destroyed  hundreds  of  }^ears  ago  it 
is  certain  that  on  the  other  side  of  the  fabric  the  weft  made  a  similar 
figure,  but  vertical.  (See  p.  225.) 


Fro.  12G. 

ANCIENT  TWILLED  MATTING. 

Petit  Anse  Island,  Louisiana. 


The  caves  of  Kentucky  furnish  specimens  of  ancient  textiles  pre 
served  in  nitrous  earth,  and  fig.  117  is  an  illustration  of  one  of  these, 
revealing  a  wicker  type  of  weaving  in  soft  materials,  not  found  on 
pottery,  however.65 

One  of  the  most  interesting  examples  of  this  ancient  work  is  illus 
trated  by  Foster,  also  taken  from  a  mound  on  Great  Miami  liiver, 
Ohio.  It  has  a  warp  of  twine  on  which  the  weft  is  wrapped  round 

«  Third  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  1884,  p.  403,  fig.  67. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  391 

and  round.  (See  p.  241.)  Only  one  family  of  Indians  on  the  whole 
Western  Hemisphere  at  present  employ  this  technic,  the  Yuinan,  of 
Arizona.  (Fig.  13;  compare  fig.  14  in  the  chapter  on  processes.) 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  the  Andamanese,  living  halfway  round 
the  world,  employ  the  same  method  of  workmanship  on  their  open  fish 
baskets. 

Fig.  126  is  from  the  photograph  of  a  specimen  of  ancient  twilled 
matting  from  Petit  Anse  Island,  near  Vermilion  Bay,  coast  of  Loui 
siana,  presented  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution  by  J.  F.  Cleu,  in  May, 
1866.  Petit  Anse  Island  is  the  locality  of  the  remarkable  mine  of 
rock  salt,  exploited  during  the  civil  war,  and  from  which,  for  a  con 
siderable  time,  the  Southern  States  derived  a  great  part  of  their  supply 
of  this  article.  The  salt  is  almost  chemically  pure  and  apparently 
inexhaustible  in  quantity,  occurring  in  every  part  of  the  island,  which 
is  about  5,000  acres  in  extent,  at  a  depth  below  the  surface  of  the  soil 
of  15  or  20  feet.  The  fragment  of  matting  here  photographed  was 
found  near  the  surface  of  the  salt.  No  vast  antiquity  can  be  argued 
on  this  account,  but  the  specimen  is  without  doubt  very  old  and  a  relic 
of  the  weavers  who  lived  a  long  time  before  the  discovery  of  America. 
The  material  consists  of  the  outer  bark  of  the  common  Southern  cane 
(Arundinaria  tectd]  and  has  been  preserved  for  so  long  a  period  both 
by  its  siliceous  character  and  the  strongly  saline  condition  of  the  soil. 

ALASKA  AND  THE  NORTH  PACIFIC 

There  is  a  charm  in  the  name  of  such  Indian  materials  as  spruce  root,  wild  rye, 
and  cedar  bark,  but  they  would  be  useless  to  us  without  the  Indian  touch. 

— MARY  WHITE. 

For  convenience  of  study  a  line  may  be  drawn  across  the  map  of 
North  America  from  Dixon  Entrance  northeastward  so  as  to  have 
Queen  Charlotte  Islands  and  the  makers  of  coiled  basketry  that  are 
inland  to  the  north  of  it.  The  tribes  included  will  be  Athapascan, 
Eskirnauan,  Koluschan,  and  Skittagetan.  Among  the  two  first  named 
twined  and  coiled  work  in  many  styles  of  weaving  will  be  found,  while 
the  two  last  named  and  their  northern  neighbors,  the  Aleuts,  have 
avoided  coiled  basketry  altogether.  In  Plate  136  are  gathered  types 
of  the  peninsula  of  Alaska,  Athapascan,  Eskimo,  and  Aleutian,  em 
bracing  hard  coil,  soft  coil,  closed  twined  work,  open  twined  work, 
straight  warp,  crossed  warp,  and  hemstitch,  gathered  by  E.  W.  Nelson. 

In  studying  the  basketry  of  this  area  the  following  division,  accord 
ing  to  tribes  and  families,  will  be  found  convenient: 

1.  Athapascan  (interior  of  Alaska). 

2.  Eskimo  (around  shore). 

3.  Aleuts  (Aleutian  Archipelago). 

4.  Tlinkits  (southeastern  Alaska). 

5.  Haidas  (Queen  Charlotte  Archipelago). 


392 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902 


ATHAPASCAN  COILED  BASKETRY 


>3 


Perhaps  no  other  family  of  American  tribes  lias  such  a  variety  of 
contacts  with  neighbors  of  different  linguistic  families  and  of  limita 
tions  in  environments  having  little  likeness  to  one  another.  This 
northern  branch  of  them,  as  will  be  seen  in  Father  Morice's  list/'  is  in 
touch  along  their  southern  border  with  Algonquian  descendants  of 
Mound  Builders  on  the  Ohio,  with  birch-bark  workers  in  northern 
middle  Canada,  and  with  Pacific  coast  tribes  here  and  there.  Some  of 
these  were  noted  in  speaking  of  Region  1,  page  379,  with  illustrations. 
Further  on  other  contacts  will  be  shown.  The  distribution  of  the 
family  is  given  by  Powell  on  his  linguistic  map  of  North  America.6 
Here  the  Athapascans  are  in  touch  with  Eskimo;  indeed,  most  of 

the  specimens  of  their  ware 
shown  were  procured  from  the 
latter  in  trade.  Their  techni 
cal  methods  will  be  best  under 
stood  through  illustrations. 

The  northern  Tinne  practice 
several  varieties  of  technic  in 
their  coiled  work.  The  tribes 
of  the  interior  of  Alaska  make 
a  very  coarse  coiled  basket  now 
becoming  common.  Some  of 
the  very  old  pieces  have  the 
buttonhole  stitch  in  the  sewing. 
In  a  collection  of  pieces  no  two  will  agree  either  in  shape  or  composition. 
The  best  of  the  ware  is  from  near  the  Mackenzie  mouth,  where 
d}^ed  feathers  are  used  for  decoration.  Some  of  the  oldest  specimens 
in  the  National  Museum  entered  in  the  first  catalogue  are  coiled  basket 
trays  of  the  Athapascan  Indian  tribes  living  in  Fort  Simpson  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Mackenzie  River.  Splints  of  willow  and  spruce  root 
are  employed  in  the  work  and  the  ornamentation  is  meager,  consisting 
of  stripes  on  the  side,  and  borders  in  quilled  Avork  dyed  in  different 
colors.  These  specimens  vary  from  f>  to  8  inches  in  diameter,  and 
were  gathered  by  R.  MacFarlane,  B.  R.  Ross  and  W.  L.  Hardesty. 

Fig.  127  is  a  coiled  basket  jar  of  the  Tinne  Indians  near  Point 
Barrow,  Alaska.  The  specimen  belongs  to  the  single-rod  type,  in 
which  one  rod  or  stem  constitutes  the  foundation.  The  sewing  is  done 
with  split  stems  of  willow,  passing  over  the  rod  in  progress  and  under 
the  one  forming  the  coil  underneath.  The  illustration  here  given  of 
this  specimen  is  from  Murdoch's  paper  on  the  Point  Barrow  Eskimo/ 

"Transactions  of  the  Canadian  Institute,  Toronto,  IV,  1894,  Pt.  1,  No.  7. 

&  Seventh  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  Washington,  1891,  p.  55. 

c  Ninth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  1892,  pp.  326-327. 


FIG.  127. 

COILED  WORKBASKET. 
Tinne  Indians,  Alaska. 
89801,  U.S.N.M.     Collected  by  P.  H.  Ray. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


393 


The  -Eskimo  arc  in  the 


FIG.  128. 
COILED  WORKBASKET. 

Tinne  Indians. 
Collected  by  P.  H.  Ray. 


It  is  said  to  have  come  from  Sidaru.     The  owner  declared  that  it  came 
from  the  Great  River  in  the  South,  which  Mr.  Murdoch  interprets  to 
mean  the  Kowak,  flowing  into  Hothani  Inlet, 
habit  of  going  to  this  place  in  order  to  trade 
with  the  Indians,  and  thus  this  coiled  basket 
found  its  way  into  the  possession  of  the  Es 
kimo  at  Point  Barrow.     This  figure  is  336  on 
page  326  in  Murdoch's  paper.     Catalogue  No. 
89801.     Height,  about  3A  inches.     Collected 
by  P.  H.  Ray,  U.  S.  Army. 

Catalogue  No.  89802  in  the  U.  S.  National 
Museum  is  a  conical  workbasket,  with  a  seal 
skin  top  for  a  drawing  string  to  keep  the  con 
tents  from  falling  out,  It  is  in  coiled  weav 
ing  over  a  single  rod,  from  Sidaru,  northern 
Alaska,  near  Point  Barrow,  collected  by  Lieut. 
P.  H.  Ray,  U.  S.  Army.  It  is  similar  in  tech- 
nic  with  No.  89801.  Its  height  is  4£  inches, 
and  it  has  been  described  by  Murdoch.  (See 
fig.  128.) 

Catalogue  No.  56564  in  the  U.  S.  National 
Museum  is  an  Eskimo  woman's  workbox  (Aguma,  ama,  ipiaru)  in 
coiled  basketry,  from  Point  Barrow,  Alaska,  also  collected  by  Lieu 
tenant  Ray.  The  material  is  willow  and  the  technic  is  coiled  work  of 

the  single-rod  type.  The  neck  of  the  bas 
ket  is  of  black  tanned  sealskin  and  is  tied 
with  a  string  of  the  same  material.  Height, 
If  inches.  It  has  been  described  by  Mur 
doch.  (See  fig.  129.) 

Take  an  example  from  another  part  of 
Alaska.  Fig.  130  is  a  coiled  basket  of  the 
Tinne  Indians  who  are  settled  on  the  Lower 
Yukon  River.  The  foundation  is  a  single 
rod  of  spruce  root  and  the  sewing  is  done 
with  splints  of  the  same  material.  It  be 
longs  to  the  type  of  coiled  work  called  a 
single  rod  (see  p.  250);  the  stitches  inter 
lock  with  those  underneath  and  inclose  also 
the  rod  of  that  coil.  Each  stitch,  there 
fore,  really  incloses  two  foundations.  In 
the  explorations  of  Dall,  Nelson,  and  Turner,  in  this  long  stretch  of 
river  bottom  were  collected  many  specimens  showing  transition  be 
tween  Indian  and  Eskimo  activities. 

On  the  bottom  the  basket  maker  has  taken  the  greatest  pains  to  split 
the  stitches  of  each  coil  with  those  of  the  coil  beyond,  giving  to  each 
one,  looked  at  from  the  center,  a  bifurcated  appearance  which  is  quite 


FIG.  129. 
COILED  WORKBASKET. 

Tinne  Indians. 
Collected  by  I'.  H.  Ray. 


394 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 


ornamental.  The  same  technic  will  be  observed  further  on  in  exam 
ining  the  workmanship  of  the  Thompson  River  Indians  in  British 
Columbia,  and  by  their  neighbors,  the  Chilcotin,  belonging  to  the 


FIG. 130. 
COILED  WORKBASKET. 

Tinne  Indians. 
Cat.  No.  24342,  U.S.N.M.     Collected  by  Lucien  Turner. 


same  linguistic  stock.  The  Eskimo  woman  also  in  making  her  coiled 
basket  work  splits  the  stitches  of  her  coil  and  sews  through  them. 
This  process  is  kept  up  on  the  body  of  this  specimen  half  the  way  up. 

Above  that  it  ceases,  as  shown 
in  the  square  inch  enlarged  fig. 
131.  The  coils  vary  considera 
bly  in  width;  the  stitches  also 
are  not  of  the  same  size,  so  that 
there  is  by  no  means  the  uniform 
regularity,  either  horizontally  or 
vertically,  that  one  observes  in 
the  California  area.  It  will  be 
noticed,  too,  that  the  top  of  each 
stitch  is  narrowed  by  reason 
of  the  crowding.  Over  the  en 
tire  surface  of  this  specimen 


FIG.  131. 


DKTAIL  OF   COILED   BASKET. 


Tinne  Indians. 
Collected  by  Lucien  Turner. 


it  is  quite  impossible  to  see  the 
foundation  rod  because  of  this 
crowding  of  stitches. 
This  specimen,  like  many  others  from  the  Athapascan  area,  is  jar 

shaped,  and  under  good  conditions  would  hold  water.     Catalogue  No. 

24342  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum.     Collected,  with  many  others, 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


395 

Diameter,  8 J  inches; 


on  the  Lower  Yukon  River  by  Lucien  M.  Turner, 
height,  6f  inches. 

It  is  ii  long  way  from  middle  Alaska  to  the  Hupa  Valley,  northern 
California.  The  basket  here  shown  is  No.  126520  in  the  U.  S.  National 
Museum,  collected  by  Captain  Ray."  It  is  introduced  to  show  a  single 
wonderful  coincidence  between  the  work  of  Tinne  and  Hupa,  who  speak 
languages  of  the  same  family  in  regions  wide  apart.  It  is  coiled  work. 
(See  fig.  ' 


FIG.  132. 

TOBACCO   BASKET. 

Hupa  Indians,  California. 
Collected  by  P.  H.  Ray. 


ESKIMO    BASKETRY 


Baskets  not  only  have  an  infinite  variety  of  uses  from  village  to 
village,  but  among  each  people  they  have  a  multitude  of  uses.  From 
the  shore  of  Norton  Sound  to  the  Kuskokwim  the  women  are  expert 
in  weaving  grass  mats,  baskets,  and  bags.  Grass  mats  are  used  on 
the  sleeping  benches  and  for  wrapping  around  bedding.  They  are 
used  also  as  sails  for  umiaks.  They  now  frequently  serve  as  curtains 
to  partition  off  the  corners  of  a  room  or  sleeping  platform.  Small 
mats  are  placed  also  in  the  manholes  of  kaiaks  as  cushions.  The  bags 
are  used  for  storing  fish,  berries,  and  other  food  supplies,  or  for  cloth 
ing.  Smaller  bags  and  baskets  are  made  for  containing  small  articles 
used  in  the  house.* 

Two  types  of  basket  work  are  found  in  close  proximity  among  the 
Eskimo  in  the  neighborhood  of  Norton  Sound  and  Bristol  Bay,  north 
and  south,  the  twined  and  the  coiled.  In  the  former  (fig.  133)  the 

o  Smithsonian  Report,  1886,  Pt.  1,  pi.  xv,  fig.  67. 

&  E.  W.  Nelson,  Eighteenth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  1900,  pi.  74. 


396  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

treatment  is  precisely  the  same  as  in  those  of  Aleutian  Islands  to  be 
described,  but  the  Eskimo  wallet  is  of  coarser  material  and  the  weav 
ing  is  far  more  rudely  done.  Quite  as  interesting-  as  the  wallets  is  the 
matting.  (See  Plate  136.) 

At  Chuwuk,  on  the  Lower  Yukon,  Nelson  saw  a  woman  making  one 
of  these  mats  and  watched  the  process  she  employed.  A  set  of  three 
or  four  straws  was  twisted  and  the  ends  turned  in,  forming  a  strand, 
a  number  of  which  were  arranged  side  by  side  with  their  ends  fastened 
along  a  stick,  the  primeval  loom,  forming  one  end  of  the  mat  and 
hanging  down  for  the  warp.  Other  strands  were  then  used  as  woof. 
By  a  deft  twist  of  the  lingers  it  was  carried  from  one  side  to  the  other, 
passing  above  and  below  the  strands  of  the  warp;  then  the  woof  strand 
was  passed  around  the  outer  strand  of  the  warp  and  twined  to  repeat 
the  operation.  The  strands  were  made  continuous  by  adding  straws 
as  necessary,  and  with  each  motion  the  strands  were  twisted  a  little  so 
as  to  keep  them  firmly  together.  By  this  simple  method  a  variety  of 
patterns  are  produced. 

Grass  bags  are  started  from  the  bottom  where  the  strands  of  the 
warp,  consisting  of  two  or  more  grass  stems,  are  fastened  together 
and  extend  vertically  downward.  The  woof  is  formed  by  a  double 
strand  of  grass,  each  of  which  is  twisted  about  itself  and  both  twined 
with  the  strands  of  the  warp  inclosed  in  the  turns;  both  are  continual  ty 
twisted  as  the  weaving  progresses.  In  coarsely  made  bags  the  strands 
of  the  woof  are  spaced  from  an  inch  to  two  inches  apart,  and  those  of 
the  warp  at  intervals  of  from  a  quarter  to  half  an  inch.  These  bags 
have  a  conical  bottom,  which  slopes  from  the  center  to  the  sides.  At 
the  mouth  the  ends  of  the  warp  are  braided  to  form  a  continuous 
edge/' 

The  lower  figures  in  Nelson's  group  of  Alaskan  basketiy  (Plate  136) 
show  plainly  the  matting,  the  closely  woven  twined  wallet,  and  the 
openwork.  Plates  137  to  1-15  in  this  paper  are  all  excellent  illustra 
tions  of  the  ware  here  described.  The  specimens  are  in  the  U.  S. 
National  Museum. 

Plate  137  will  show  better  the  detail,  body  and  bottom,  of  one  of 
the  twined  wallets  of  the  Norton  Sound  Eskimo.  The  warp  and  the 
twining  of  the  bottom  are  of  a  very  coarse,  rush-like  grass.  The 
bottom  is  in  openwork  and  oval.  In  this  example  the  warp  is  radi 
ating  from  a  median  line;  in  others  the  strands  are  laid  parallel,  so 
that  they  form  a  rectangle.  At  the  boundary  line  between  the  bottom 
and  the  body  of  the  wallet  there  is  a  row  of  three-strand  weaving,  the 
rows  running  in  opposite  directions,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  drawing. 
The  body  is  of  rush  color;  the  spotted  lines  on  the  cylindrical  portion 
are  in  black,  produced  by  the  insertion  of  rags  and  bits  of  hide.  This 

«  Eighteenth  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  1900,  pi.  LXXIV. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


397 


effect  may  be  varied  by  mixing  two  strands  of  different  color  in  the 
twine.  The  fastening  off  at  the  top  is  done  by  working  the  warp 
strands  into  a  three-strand  braid,  turning  down  on  the  inside  of  the 
vessel,  and  cutting  off  an  end  whenever  a  new  warp  thread  is  taken  up 
by  the  braid.  Frequently  the  last  three  or  four  warp  straws  are  not 
cut  off,  but  braided  out  to  their  extremities  in  order  to  form  a  handle 
for  the  basket. 

In  order  to  show  how  the  warp  and  weft  are  administered  in  this 
far  north  region,  a  square  inch  of  a  wallet  is  represented  much 
enlarged,  fig.  133.  The  openwork  producing  parallel  figures  is 
effected  by  leaving  spaces  between  the  different  lines  of  twining. 
The  four  rows  at  the  top  of  the  drawing  are  plain,  solid,  twined  weav 
ing;  the  fifth  row  from  the  top  is  twined  in  an  opposite  direction,  giv 
ing  the  effect  of  a  three-strand  braid  between  the  two  rows;  the  third 
row  from  the  top  represents  imper 
fectly  the  effect  produced  by  the 
three-strand  work,  it  is  interesting 
to  find  this  method  of  basket  weav 
ing  so  far  north. 

The  student  will  notice  farther  on 
that  very  much  of  the  elegant  use 
of  the  warp  in  ornamentation,  so 
common  with  the  Aleuts,  who 
speak  a  kindred  language  and  live 
near  by,  is  lost.  It  will  be  seen, 
however,  that  with  their  rude  ma 
terials  and  tools  the  Eskimo  have 
still  acquired  the  art  of  making  a 
great  variety  of  basketry,  showing 
that  they  have  had  a  multitude  of 
teachers.  This  specimen,  Catalogue  No.  38872  in  the  U.  S.  National 
Museum,  was  collected,  with  many  others,  at  Norton  Sound,  by  E.  W. 
Nelson. 

To  furnish  a  means  of  comparison  between  the  two  sides  of  Bering 
Sea,  Plate  138  is  a  twined  wallet  of  the  Chukchi  people  of  Kamchatka. 
The  foundation  is  of  straw  laid  parallel,  and  the  weft  is  of  plain  twined 
weaving,  the  rows  one-half  an  inch  apart.  The  border  is  finished  off 
by  gathering  the  ends  of  the  warp  into  a  braid.  The  decoration  on 
this  basket  is  effected  first  by  coloring  warp  strands  black  and  group 
ing  them  systematically,  and  also  by  thive  narrow  bands  of  black 
twined  weaving  near  the  top.  Its  height  is  12  inches.  This  specimen, 
now  in  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  New  York,  wa&  col 
lected  by  the  Jessup  Expedition. 

To  pursue  the  comparison  farther  into  Asiatic  territory,  Plate  139 
is  a  wallet  in  twined  weaving  from  Kamchatka,  introduced  here  for 


FIG.  133. 

DETAIL  OF  ESKIMO  TWINED  WALLET. 

Collected  by  E.  W.  Nelson. 


398 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 


comparison  with  the  Chukchi  typo  just  shown.  The  warp  is  of  coarse 
hemp  cord;  weft  or  filling  i«  of  grass  stems  in  natural  color  dyed 
black.  The  bottom  is  ornamented  with  bands  in  two  colors;  in  each 
band  there  are  alternate  rows  of  black  and  Avhite  stitches  arranged 
perpendicularly;  in  the  next  band  they  are  oblique,  and  in  the  next 
perpendicular,  forming  a  interminable  mass  of  changing  patterns, 
having  a  very  pleasing  effect.  The  body  is  covered  with  alternations 
of  plain  and  variegated  bands  in  which  the  white  and  black  are  admin 
istered  in  triangles,  rectangles,  chevrons,  and  zigzag  patterns.  The 
work  on  this  wallet  is  finely  done.  The  effect  of  the  ornamentation  is 


FIG. 134. 

COILED  BASKET. 

Eskimo  Indians,  Alaska. 

Cat.  No.  38469.  U.S.N.M.    Collected  by  E.  W.  Nelson. 

very  attractive— on  the  top  the  ends  of  the  warp  are  bent  down  and 
held  in  place  by  loops  of  sinew  thread.  The  work  nearest  like  this 
will  be  found  quite  common  on  the  eastern  side  of  Bering  Sea  and  on 
the  Pacific  coast  of  America.  The  writer  is  indebted  to  Dr.  Franz 
Boas  for  drawing  attention  to  these  similarities. 

Its  height  is  13  inches.  This  specimen,  now  in  the  American 
Museum  of  Natural  History,  New  York,  was  collected  by  the  Jessup 
Expedition. 

The  coiled  variety  of  Eskimo  basketry,,  previously  mentioned,  con 
sists  of  a  bunch  of  grass  sewed  in  a  continuous  coil  by  a  whip  stitch 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  399 

over  the  bunch  and  under  a  few  stems  in  the  coil  just  beneath,  the 
stitch  looping  under  a  stitch  of  the  lower  coil.  When  this  kind  of 
work  is  carefully  done,  as  among  the  Indians  of  New  Mexico,  Arizona, 
and  California,  and  in  some  exquisite  examples  in  bamboo  from  Siarn 
and  in  palm  leaf  from  Nubia,  beautiful  results  are  reached;  but  the 
Eskimo  basket  maker  does  not  prepare  her  foundations  evenly,  sews 
carelessly,  passing  the  thread  sometimes  through  the  stitches  just 
below  and  sometimes  between  them,  and  does  not  work  her  stitches 
home  (fig.  51).  It  can  not  be  said  that  she  has  no  skill  with  the 
needle,  for  her  embroideries  in  fur,  intestines,  and  quill  are  excellent. 


FIG.  135. 

BOTTOM  OF  FIG.  134. 


Most  of  the  baskets  in  the  Eskimo  collection  in  the  National  Museum 
were  gathered  by  E.  W.  Nelson  and  have  a  round  bit  of  leather  in  the 
bottom  to  start  upon  (fig.  135).  The  shape  is  either  that  of  the 
uncovered  bandbox  or  of  the  ginger  jar.rt  Especial  attention  should 
be  paid  to  this  form  of  stitching,  as  it  occurs  again  in  widely  distant 
regions  in  a  great  variety  of  material  and  with  modifications  produc 
ing  striking  effects.  (See  figs.  134,  135.) 

The  Eskimo  women  employ  in  basket  making  a  needle  made  of  a 
bird  bone  ground  to  a  point  on  a  stone  (fig.  40).     Fine  tufts  of  rein- 

«  Eighteenth  Annual  Keport  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  1900,  pi.  74. 


400 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 


deer  hair  taken  from  between  the  hoofs  are  modernly  used  in  orna 
mentation,  just  as  the  California  women  catch  the  stems  of  feathers 
under  their  stitches  as  they  sew. 

Figs.  135  and  130  will  illustrate  this  rude  type  of  coiled  basket  of 
the  Eskimo  about  Norton  Sound.  It  is  quite  certain  that  the  art  of 
basket  making  is  not  an  old  one  with  these  people.  They  have  not 
learned  how  to  begin  the  work  from  the  center  of  the  foundation,  and 
always  leave  a  circular  space,  either  vacant  or  to  be  tilled  with  some 
other  substance.  In  the  example  here  shown  a  piece  of  hide  4  inches 
in  diameter  and  irregular  in  outline  constitutes  the  starting  point. 
Holes  are  punched  around  the  edge  of  this,  as  shown  in  the  detail 
drawing  (tig.  135),  and  the  foundation  of  grass  stems  and  leaves  is 
sewed  immediately  to  this  with  strips  of  the  same  material,  not  with 
any  regularity  or  neatness.  The  basket  has  a  cover,  which  is  also 
interesting  in  its  leather  hinges,  fastening,  and  handle.  It  must  be 
admitted,  however,  under  the  stimulus  and  demands  of  trade,  that  the 

art  is  improving.  Specimens  are  at  this 
date  brought  home  that  are  vastly  better 
made  than  any  of  the  old  pieces  in  the 
National  Museum;  charming  cloud  effects 
are  produced  in  sewing  by  using  straws  of 
different  tints. 

This  .jpecimen,  Catalogue  No.  38401),  in 
the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  was  collected 
by  E.  W.  Nelson. 

Catalogue  No.  127891,  in  the  U.  S.  Na 
tional  Museum,  is  a  small  jar-shaped  coiled 

7  J  * 

basket  from  the  Kowak  River  region,  north 
of  Bering  Strait,  Alaska,  collected  by  Lieut.  George  M.  Stoney,  U.  S. 
Navy.  The  foundation  of  the  coil  is  a  small  number  of  slender  grass 
stems.  The  sewing  is  in  material  of  the  same  kind.  The  special  char 
acteristic  of  this  specimen  is  that,  in  the  sewing,  the  grass  filament  is 
wrapped  once  around  the  foundation  and  on  the  next  turn  is  locked  in 
the  stitch  underneath.  This  is  an  economical  method  of  working,  but 
it  weakens  the  basket,  The  work  on  this  specimen  is  slovenly  done. 
It  has  a  small  piece  of  leather  in  the  center  of  the  foundation.  Height, 
If  inches.  This  example  is  a  waif.  It  comes  from  the  Arctic  Ocean 
area,  and  most  of  the  pieces  in  the  Museum  from  near  by  are  Timn' 
and  gotten  by  the  Eskimo  in  trade.  More  curious  still  is  the  extra 
wrap  about  the  foundation  every  time  a  stitch  is  taken.  The  ratia 
coiled  baskets  made  in  some  of  the  schools  are  similar. 

Catalogue  No.  35902,  U.  S.  National  Museum,  is  a  basket  jar  of  the 
Eskimo  at  Kushunuk,  Alaska,  The  flat  bottom  is  in  open-twined 
weaving  of  grass  stems.  The  sides  are  in  coiled  work  of  the  same 
material,  the  outline  being  rectangular,  with  rounded  corners.  The 


DETAIL  OF   ESKIMO  COILED  BASKET. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  401 

notable  feature  of  this  piece  is  the  union  of  two  fundamentally  different 
methods  of  manufacture,  the  twined  and  the  coiled. 

Its  height  is  4-J-J  inches,  and  it  was  collected  by  E.  W.  Nelson. 

Catalogue  No.  36190,  U.  S.  National  Museum,  is  a  coiled  basket  jar 
of  the  Eskimo  on  the  Lower  Yukon.  The  bottom  is  a  piece  of  seal 
skin  3  inches  in  diameter.  The  coiled  work  on  this  specimen  is 
unique,  A  grass  foundation  is  held  together  by  half  hitches  or  button 
hole  stitches  in  the  same  close  together.  There  are  16  rows.  The 
stitches  pass  over  the  foundation,  lock  with  the  stitches  underneath, 
and  in  returning  make  a  turn  about  the  standing  part.  The  technic 
is  not  half  hitch,  but,  if  the  foundation  were  pulled  out,  would  resemble 
the  twisted  coils  in  the  Mackenzie  River  game  bags,  muskemoots 
(Plate  129),  or  the  work  on  the  textile  from  Hopewell  mound,  Ohio. 
(See  fig.  116). 

Catalogue  No.  153686  in  the  National  Museum  is  a  coiled  basket  jar 
of  the  tribes  on  the  Lower  Yukon,  Alaska.  The  foundation  is  a  flat 
piece  of  hard  wood,  varying  in  width,  overlaid  hy  a  small  splint,  which 
gives  an  uneven  line  on  the  outside.  The  sewing  is  done  with  strips 
of  willow  rods  without  bark.  The  stitches  pass  over  both  strips  of 
the  foundation  and  are  caught  between  the  two  strips  of  the  foundation 
coil  underneath.  This  is  the  only  specimen  of  its  kind  in  the  Museum 
from  Alaska.  The  use  of  a  broad  foundation  gives  a  flat  appearance 
to  the  surface,  something  like  that  of  the  Mescalero  basketry  in 
Arizona.  A  handle  is  attached,  the  technic  being  the  same  as  that  of 
the  basket.  It  is  probably  of  Indian  manufacture.  Its  height  is 
about  4f  inches,  and  it  was  collected  by  J.  Henry  Turner. 

Catalogue  No.  127482  in  the  National  Museum  is  a  coiled  basket 
jar  of  the  Eskimo,  Togiak  River,  empt}Ting  into  Bristol  Bay,  Alaska. 
The  foundation  is  a  piece  of  sealskin.  The  rows  of  the  basket  are 
built  up  by  coiled  work,  with  straw  for  foundation  and  sewing.  The 
peculiar  characteristic a  is  the  neat  and  regular  manner  in  which  the 
stitches,  in  passing  outward,  split  the  underlying  stitch  of  the  previous 
coil.  On  the  surface  these  stitches  pass  from  top  to  bottom  in  regular 
vertical  lines,  resembling  feather  stitch.  The  upper  margin  is  orna 
mented  with  a  row  of  birds'  feet.  Its  height  is  2£  inches,  and  the 
specimen  was  collected  by  I.  Applegate. 

Catalogue  No.  127483,  U.  S.  National  Museum,  is  a  coiled  basket  jar 
of  the  Eskimo  on  Togiak  River.  A  rude  ornamentation  is  attempted 
on  the  surface  near  the  top  by  overlaying  the  foundation  with  a  band 
of  brown  material  underneath  the  stitches.  Much  will  be  said  about 
this  device  of  overlaying  among  Indian  tribes  farther  south. 

a  See  Report  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1884,  pi.  iv,  showing  furcated  stitches. 
NAT  MUS   1902 26 


402  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

Its  height  is  2  inches,  and  it  was  collected  by  Mr.  Applegate. 

The  upper  figure  in  Plate  140  is  a  covered  basket  in  coiled  work  of 
the  Chukchi  people  of  Kamchatka.  Foundation,  a  piece  of  sealskin; 
bottom,  coarse  coiled  work  in  straw  held  together  by  sewing  in  sinew 
thread,  the  stitches  being  one-half  inch  apart.  The  body  is  built  up 
of  coiled  sewing,  similar  to  that  of  the  Eskimo  of  Alaska.  Decora 
tion,  bands  of  chevron  pattern  in  black.  Hinge  arid  fastening  of  seal 
skin.  Top  decorated  with  six-pointed  star.  Diameter,  7  inches. 

This  specimen,  now  in  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History, 
New  York,  was  collected  by  the  Jessup  expedition.  The  students  of 
culture  will  be  interested  in  the  results  of  this  exploration,  which 
settle  the  question  of  unity  of  industries  in  the  two  continents. 

Fig.  2  in  Plate  140  is  an  oblong  coiled  basket  of  the  Chukchi  people 
of  Kamchatka.  In  the  foundation,  as  in  the  Eskimo  baskets,  an  oblong 
piece  of  sealskin  is  inserted.  The  people  of  this  north  region  do  not 
seem  to  know  how  to  make  the  coil  beginning  which  prevails  among 
the  Indian  tribes. 

Around  this  sealskin  the  bottom  consists  of  a  continuous  coil  of 
grass  stems  held  together  by  a  wide,  open  coiled  sewing  in  sinew 
thread.  The  body  is  built  up  on  a  grass  foundation  with  sewing  in 
the  same  material,  resembling  precisely  the  work  done  by  the  Eskimo 
of  Port  Clarence.  Three  rows  of  coiled  work  at  the  top  are  like  that 
at  the  bottom,  and  over  all  is  a  band  of  sealskin  rawhide  with  holes 
here  and  there  for  carrying.  Its  height  is  9  inches.  This  specimen, 
now  in  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  New  York,  was 
collected  by  the  Jessup  expedition. 

The  bottom  figure  on  Plate  140  is  a  b raided  and  coiled  wallet  of  the 
Koryak  people  of  Kamchatka.  The  foundation  is  a  strip  of  sealskin. 
The  body  is  built  up  in  a  continuous  coil  of  six- strand  braid,  as  in 
making  hats.  The  decoration  consists  of  alternating  plain  with  col 
ored  rows  of  braid.  Loops  of  sealskin  on  the  top  serve  for  fastening 
and  carrying.  This  is  a  rare  type  of  basketry  in  America.  Its  height 
is  13  inches. 

There  is  a  small  specimen  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  obtained 
by  Captain  John  Rodgers,  U.  S.  Navy,  in  1852-5,  made  in  the  same 
way.  As  his  expedition  was  on  the  Arctic  coast  of  Asia,  this  piece 
also  may  have  come  home  from  that  quarter. 

Plato  141  is  a  covered  coiled  basket  in  the  collection  of  F.  Harvey. 
It  is  from  the  Lower  Yukon  River  country  and  represents  one  of  the 
best  t}rpes  of  Eskimo  work.  Especial  attention  is  called  to  the  even 
ness  of  the  stitches,  which  interlock  and  at  intervals  gather  in  a  few 
of  the  straws  of  the  foundation.  The  mottled  surface  of  the  basket 
should  also  be  noted  in  connection  with  the  delightful  effects  produced 
by  simply  managing  the  natural  colors  of  the  straw  with  which  the 
sewing  is  done.  Attention  has  been  directed  to  the  glorification  of 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  403 

this  technical  method  by  the  Mission  Indians  in  California.     This  speci 
men  represents  the  very  best  coiled  work  that  the  Eskimo  can  make. 


ALEUTIAN    BASKETRY 


In  1874,  William  H.  Dall  contributed  to  the  U.  S.  National  Museum 
a  number  of  specimens  of  twined  basketry,  from  Attu  and  other 
islands  far  out  in  the  Aleutian  chain.  (Catalogue  Nos.  19476-19480). 
There  for  the  first  time  this  exquisite  weaving-  was  brought  to  light. 
Warp  and  weft  are  straws  of  beach  grass  «  and  the  workmanship  will 
compare  favorably  with  that  of  any  other  basket  makers  in  the  world. 
In  the  conical  wallets,  which  resemble  in  outline  those  of  the  Eskimo 
and  southeastern  Alaskan  tribes,  the  warp  straws  radiate  from  the 
center  of  the  bottom.  On  the  body  the  twined  weft,  always  the  same 
plain  two-strand  work,  is  applied  to  the  warp  so  as  to  give  rise  to  sev 
eral  technical  varieties,  which  may  be  classified  as  follows: 

1.  Plain  twined  weaving,  the  weft  driven  home  (Plate  142). 

2.  Open  twined  work,  there  being  open  spaces  between  the  rows 
of  weaving,  but  the  warp  strands  are  parallel. 

3.  Crossed  warp,  in  which  there  are  two  sets  of  warp  elements,  one 
half  inclining  to  the  right,  the  other  half  toward  the  left.     The  twined 
weaving  binds  the  decussations,  making  hexagonal  meshes.     This  type 
has  an  interesting  distribution  on  both  sides  of  the  Pacific. 

4.  Divided  warp.     A  pretty  effect  is  produced  by  these  Aleut  basket 
makers,  who  split  the  warp,  or  divide  it,  if  it  consists  of  straws  in  pairs, 
and  twining  the  weft  straws  around  two  halves  of  the  same  straw  and 
next  around  two  half  straws  not  of  the  same  but  of  adjoining  stalks. 
If  the  warp  be  of  straws  by  twos,  the  left  side  member  of  one  pair  is 
entwined  with  the  right-hand  member  of  the  adjoining  pair.     On  the 
next  round  there  is  an  alternation,  the  straws  that  belong  together 
being  entwined.     The  result  of  this  is  a  series  of  lozenge-shaped  open 
ings  or  meshes  (figs.  16,  17).     The  general  pppearance  of  the  surface 
resembles  a  form  of  needlework  called  hemstitching.     The  Aleuts  in 
doubling  the  warp  do  not  place  one  element  behind  another  as  do  the 
Tlinkits,  but  alongside.     This  enables  the  weaver  to  convert  her  tech- 
nic  into  some  other  type  in  the  successive  rounds.     She  may  have  plain 
twining,  crossed  warp,  zigzag  warp,  or  hemstitch  at  any  moment. 

5.  Diverted  warp.     By  this  is  meant  a  form  of  weaving  in  which 
certain  warp  straws  are  deflected  from  the  perpendicular  for  a  few 
courses  and  then  brought  back  or  changed  to  the  upright  position 
again.     The  result  of  this  is  a  most  pleasing  effect  (Plate  143)  and  of 
the  greatest  variety  on  the  surface.     Attention  has  been  previously 

a  Elymus  mollis,  Sitka,  Norton  Sound,  Kotzebue  Sound;  Elymus  arenarius,  Norton 
Sound  to  Point  Barrow;  Elymus sibirictis,  Sitka.  Rothrock,  Smithsonian  Report,  1867. 
For  a  description  of  the  Eskimo  and  Aleuts,  see  W.  H.  Dall,  in  the  Contributions  to 
North  American  Ethnology,  I,  1877,  pp.  7-106, 


404  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

invited  to  the  similarity  of  mound  builder's  work  in  the  Mississippi 
Valley  to  the  playing  with  the  warp  of  which  the  Aleuts  were  so  fond. 
Away  down  among1  the  mummies  of  Peru  are  found  relics  of  weav 
ing  of  precisely  the  same  sort. 

Ornamentation  is  produced  by  wThat  looks  like  darning  or  whipping 
one  or  more  rows  of  colored  grass  after  the  body  is  formed.  It  is  in 
effect  the  false  embroidery  of  the  Tlinkits  farther  south.  The  worsted 
patterns  are  woven  into  the  texture  and  do  not  show  at  all  on  the 
inside.  (See  fig.  10.)  Another  plan  of  attaching  the  ornamentation 
is  very  ingenious,  but  not  uncommon.  Two  strands  of  colored  straw 
are  twined,  and  at  every  half  turn  one  of  the  strands  is  hooked  under 
a  twist  on  the  body  of  the  basket  by  a  kind  of  fciaresene"  work  or 
false  embroidery  with  twine.  This  ornament  has  a  bold  relief  effect 
on  the  outside  and  is  not  seen  at  all  on  the  inside. 

The  making  of  the  beautiful  twined  ware  is  not  new  in  these  small 
islands.  Lisiansky^  affirms  that  the  Aleuts  made  baskets  called 
"ishcats,"  in  which  they  keep  all  their  valuables. 

To  begin  with  the  eastern  tribes.  Catalogue  No.  2192,  in  the 
U.  S.  National  Museum,  is  a  twined  wallet  of  the  Aleuts  (Eskimaun 
family)  on  Kadiak  Island,  Alaska.  Native  name,  Enakhtak.  It  is 
made  entirely  of  Topkhnaluk  or  wild  rye  (Elyntus).  The  lower  stalks 
are  chosen  because  they  become  yellow  through  want  of  light.  The 
wallets  are  woven  from  the  standing  grass,  generally  in  July  and 
August,  by  the  women,  while  engaged  in  curing  salmon.  In  order  to 
secure  uniformity  in  texture  the  broader  leaves  are  split.  An  ordinary 
knife  is  used  to  cut  the  grass,  but  no  other  apparatus  than  nimble 
fingers  has  to  do  with  the  manufacture.  The  twining  is  called  agan- 
khak.  The  Kadiak  baskets  are  used  chiefly  in  gathering  berries  and 
also  in  straining  a  kind  of  wine  made  from  them.  This  specimen  was 
collected  by  Lieut,  G.  T.  Emmons,  U.  S.  Navy. 

These  wallet  baskets  are  woven  without  ornamentation,  or  may  be  a 
line  or  so  near  the  mouth,  often  effected  by  introducing  one  or  more 
rows  of  black  rags,  the  warp  strands  forming  a  heavy  plaited  rope-like 
border,  which  permits  carriage  by  means  of  cords  through  the  open 
ings.  In  the  Kadiak  wallets  the  Tlinkit  border  is  also  imitated  where 
the  warp  ends  are  bent  down  and  held  by  twined  weaving. 

Catalogue  No.  14978  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  is  a  typical  old 
AJeut  wallet.  The  cylindrical  part  is  covered  with  meshes  in  diamond 
pattern,  shown  in  fig.  9,  Plate  130.  The  ornamentation  on  the  surface 
is  produced  by  false  embroidery  with  strands  of  red,  blue,  and  black 
worsted.  The  continuous  line  between  the  open  stripes  is  formed  by 
false  whipping  with  a  single  thread  of  worsted  on  the  outer  stitches  of 
one  of  the  twines  of  straw.  The  border  is  a  complicated  braid. 

«  Voyage  Round  the  World,  1803-1806,  -London,  1814,  p.  181. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  405 

A  square  inch  of  this  weave,  enlarged  (see  fig.  17),  taken  from  the 
part  of  the  texture  where  the  rectangular  meshes  or  plain  work  pass 
into  the  lozenge-shaped  meshes,  will  show  the  peculiar  method  of  sepa 
rating  the  warp  threads  and  working  the  halves  alternately  to  the  right 
and  to  the  left."  In  the  bottom  row  the  pairs  of  warp  straws  are  per 
pendicular  and  gathered  into  the  twined  weaving  so  as  to  produce  rec 
tangular  spaces.  All  the  rows  above  this  are  in  the  pattern  here 
described.  From  the  Attu  Island,  collected  by  William  II.  Pall. 

Plate  14:2  shows  the  fine  close-twined  work  done  on  the  extreme 
western  islands  of  the  Aleutian  chain.  The  specimen  here  described 
is  Catalogue  No.  204588,  U.  S.  National  Museum,  the  gift  of  Mrs. 
Mary  L.  P.  Putnam,  of  Pavenport,  Iowa.  Its  noteworthy  features 
are  the  crossed  warp  and  the  patterns  worked  in  colored  worsted  on 
the  surface.  The  material  is  beach  grass,  some  species  of  Elymus. 
The  false  embroidery  on  the  surface,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  is  bor 
rowed  in  its  method  from  the  Tlinkit  Indians  of  southeastern  Alaska. 
Among  the  old  Aleut  wallets,  of  which  there  are  many  in  the  National 
Museum,  the  weaving  does  not  begin  to  be  so  fine  as  on  this  later  ware. 
It  is  the  same  story  of  progress.  With  the  possession  of  better 
knowledge,  of  superior  tools,  of  gauges  for  sizing  the  straws,  and, 
above  all,  of  such  demands  for  their  products  as  to  stimulate  emulation 
to  its  highest  pitch,  the  Atka  and  Attu  weavers  have  reached  their 
climax. 

Plate  143  is  introduced  to  show  the  technic  of  variety  No.  5, 
diverted  warp  combined  with  variety  No.  2,  or  open  work.  Fig.  1 
illustrates  the  general  effect  of  this  combination.  Attention  has 
been  called  before  to  the  enigmas  awakened  by  the  great  variety 
and  exquisite  taste  of  these  people,  our  first  possession  in  the  East 
ern  Hemisphere.  In  figs.  1)  and  c  the  detail  will  be  better  under 
stood.  In  fig.  ~b  the  first  row  has  parallel  warp.  In  the  next  row 
each  pair  of  continuous  warp  straws  are  crossed.  In  the  third  row 
the}7  proceed  vertically,  and  so  do  most  of  them  in  the  fourth  row,  but 
here  and  there  they  are  crossed  again  back  to  the  position  they  occu 
pied  in  the  second  row.  These,  too,  continue  in  the  oblique  direction 
in  the  fifth,  sixth,  seventh,  and  eighth  rows,  crossed  in  each  with  a 
straw  of  that  particular  row.  In  the  upper  course  they  return  to 
the  vertical  position.  The  twined  weaving  is  precisely  the  same  in 
every  case.  It  does  not  vary  whether  in  the  closed  weaving  or  open 
weaving.  No  artistic  effect  is  expected  therefrom.  In  this  plate,  where 
the  decorative  form  is  started  in  the  bottom  row  and  begins  to  widen 
out  all  of  the  intersections  within  the  parallelograms  are  crossed.  At 
the  tenth  row,  above  the  upper  border  of  the  drawing,  the  straws 
return  to  their  vertical  position  immediately  over  the  starting  point. 

«  See  Report  of  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1884,  pi.  i,  fig.  It. 


406  REPORT    OF   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1902. 

These  two  are  only  specimens  of  the  innumerable  Avays  of  producing 
effects  in  Aleutian  baskets  by  changes  in  the  warp. 

It  will  add  to  the  interest  in  the  Attu  weaver  to  see  her  at  her  work. 
Plate  144,  taken  by  Engineer  C.  Gadsden  Porcher,  of  the  United  States 
Revenue  Marine,  shows  her  at  the  front  door  of  her  barabra  or  under 
ground  hut.  She  is  essentially  a  cave  dweller.  The  framework  of 
the  house  ma}'  be  driftwood,  wreckage,  or  timber  deposited  by  ships. 
Over  this  moss  from  the  tundra  is  piled,  and  nature  plants  her  garden. 

The  first  thing  that  demands  notice  is  that  she  is  weaving  upward- 
upside  down,  a  careless  first  thought  would  say.  The  bottom  of  her 
fine  wallet  is  suspended  from  a  pole,  most  primitive  of  warping  beams, 
stuck  into  the  roof  of  the  barabra.  John  Smith's  Indians  used  a  limb 
of  a  tree  (fig.  148).  The  Bristol  Bay  Eskimo  now  employ  a  stick  sup 
ported  on  forked  stakes;  so  do  the  Chilkats  for  their  highl\T-prized 
blankets,  and  the  tribes  farther  south  to  make  cedar-bark  garments. 
Indeed,  the  loom  is  about  to  be  born.  With  a  lens  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  basket  maker  is  doing  the  best  work,  in  which  every  variety  of 
Aleutian  technic  is  engaged.  Her  costume  shows  her  to  be  in  the 
current  of  world-embracing  commerce  and  thought.  The  plants 
about  her  and  the  precious  work  of  her  fingers,  together  with  the 
ideas  in  her  attentive  mind,  are  survivals  from  the  past. 


TLIXKIT   BASKETRY 


The  basket  work  of  the  Tlinkit  Indians  is  superb.  Everyone  who 
sees  it  is  struck  with  its  delicacy  of  workmanship,  shape,  and  orna 
mentation.  Most  of  the  specimens  in  the  National  Museum  collection 
are  of  the  bandbox  shape,  but  they  can  be  doubled  up  flat  like  a 
grocer's  bag.  (Plates  05  and  07.)  The  material  of  foundation  and 
sewing  is  the  young  and  tough  root  of  the  spruce,  split,  and  used 
either  in  the  native  color  or  dyed  brown  or  black.  The  structure 
belongs  to  the  twined  type  before  mentioned  and  there  is  such  uni 
formity  and  fineness  in  the  warp  and  woof  that  a  water-tight  vessel 
is  produced  with  very  thin  walls.  In  size  the  wallets  vary  from  a 
diminutive  trinket  basket  to  a  capacity  of  nearly  a  bushel.  All  sorts 
of  designs  in  bands,  crosses,  rhombs,  chevrons,  triangles,  and  grecques 
are  produced  thus:  First,  the  bottom  is  woven  plain  in  the  color  of 
the  material.  In  a  great  many  pieces  a  row  of  plain  weaving  alter 
nates  with  the  twined  weaving  for  economy.  Then  in  the  building  up 
of  the  basket  bands  of  plain  color,  red  and  black,  are  woven  into  the 
structure,  having  the  same  color  on  both  sides. "  Afterwards  little 
squares  or  other  plain  figures  made  into  designs  are  sewed  on  in 

a  See  G.  T.  Emmons  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  His 
tory,  New  York,  1903.  This  paper  is  the  result  of  twenty  years'  work  among  the 
Tlinkits  by  a  patient  observer,  and  should  be  studied  with  special  care. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  407 

aresene,  or  what  is  here  called  false  embroidery,  that  is,  only  halfway 
through,  giving  the  most  varied  effect  on  the  outside,  while  the  inside 
shows  only  the  plain  colors  arid  the  red  and  black  bands.  Wild  rye 
straws  (Elymus)  for  coarse  work  and  hair  grass  (Deschampsia)  on  fine 
work  are  used  in  this  second  operation,  in  plain  rich  golden  color  or 
dyed,  being  whipped  over  and  over  along  the  outer  threads  of  the 
underlying  woof .  Other  grasses  for  false  embroidery  are  Pomicularia 
nervata,  Calamagrostis  langsdorfii,  Oinna  latifolia,  and  Bromw  sitchen- 
sis.  (See  Plate  145.) 

No  more  attractive  form  and  ornamentation  are  to  be  seen  than 
those  produced  by  the  Indians  of  this  Tlinkit  stock. 

The  Tlinkit  recognize  five  styles  of  weave,  not  including  the  fish- 
trap,  the  false  embroidery  in  grasses  and  plant  stems,  and  the  plaited  * 
borders.     These  are  all  in  twined  weaving,  the  progress  of  the  work 
being  from  left  to  right  and  the  outer  woof  strand  sloping  downward. 
Lieutenant  Emmons  gives  the  native  name  of  each  as  follows: 

1.  Plain  close-twined  weaving,  Wush  tookhar-kee  ("close  together 
work"),  which  is  perfectly  water-tight  and  is  the  standard  weave  of 
fully  three-quarters  of  all  baskets  made.     It  consists  of  the   simple 
twining  of  two  woof  strands  around  each    successive   thickness   of 
warp  splints.     The  regular  weave   produces   the   vertical   ridge-like 
appearance  in  the  line  of  the  warp,  the  polished  exterior  surface  of 
the  root  forming  the  outside  or  ornamental  face  of  the  work. 

An  openwork  work  basket  in  this  plain  twined  weaving  is  known 
as  Khart  ("  a  strainer,"  literally,  "  will  not  hold  water").  It  is  used 
in  trying  out  fish  oil  and  in  cooking  and  straining  berries. 

2,  Twined  and  checker  weaving,  Khark  gheesut  ("between,"  "in 
the   middle   of"),   from  the  introduction  of  a  single  woof  strand  in 
checker  or  wicker  weaving  between  the  lines  of  the  regular  twined 
stitch.     It  gives  a  broken,  irregular  effect  from  the  exposure  of  the 
warp  along  the  line  of  the  single  weft,  as  well  as  from  the  dull,  fibrous 
surface  of  both  of  these  strands,  which  are  of  the  coarsest  inner  sec 
tions  of  the  root.     This  weave  is  of  a  later  origin;  the  plain  weaving 
has  been  borrowed  from  the  mainland  and  from  the  more  southern 
people.     It  is  characteristic  of  the  cedar-bark  work  from  Frederick 
Sound  to  the  Straits  of  Fuca.     It  is  wanting  on  the  oldest  specimens 
of  Yakutat  baskets.     Its  use  is  confined  to  the  coarser  work,  such  as 
the  plaque-like  berry,  sewing,   and  workbaskets  of  the  woman,  the 
bottoms  of  the  baskets  and  the  unexposed  tops  of  the  covered  basket. 
It  is  in  great  favor  among  the  Chilkat,  who  make  many  large  baskets. 
It  is  used  for  economy,  both  in  the  quantity  and  the  quality  of  the 
material,  as  one  woof  strand  is  saved  in  every  three  and  in  the  more 
valued  exterior  root  section  the  saving  is  one-half.     But  its  disadvan 
tages  are  loss  of  strength,  rigidity,  and  closeness  of  texture,  and  it 
does  not  admit  of  the  embroidery  in  grasses  and  plant  stems,  which  is 
the  characteristic  feature  of  Tlinkit  basketry.     (See  fig.  140.) 


408  KEPOET    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

3.  Diagonal  twined  weaving,  Hiktch  hee  ha  r-see  (rough  or  uneven, 
like  the  skin  of  the  frog's  back,  from  its  mottled  character),  is  formed 
by  the  simple  twining  of  two  woof  strands  about  pairs  of  warp  ele 
ments.     The  weave  separates  the  pairs  in  each   superimposed  line  of 
woof,  and  breaks  joints  in  the  units  of  weave,  just  as  in  myriads  of  Attu 
and  Ute  baskets.     (See  Plates  9t>,  143.)    It  is,  in  fact,  well-known  twilled 
weaving.     This  weave  was  never  extensively  used  among  the  Tlinkit, 
except  as  a  skip  stitch  in  conjunction  with  the  ordinary  twining  (No. 
1),  whereby  a  number  of  geometric  figures  are  produced  which  form 
the  ornamentation  of  the  Haida  hat  rim  and  the  Chilkat  basket  border. 
As  a  weave  it  seems  to  have  been  confined  to  the  double  basket. 

Shuck  kuhk  (strawberry  basket)  has  erroneously  been  classed  as  a 
t}Tpe  of  weave,  but  it  is  simply  a  variation  of  the  regular  twined  weave 
(No.  1),  in  which  the  woof  strands  are  of  different  colors,  so  that  in 
both  the  vertical  and  the  horizontal  lines  there  is  produced  a  variety 
of  effects,  supposed  to  resemble  the  seed-covered  surface  of  the  wild 
strawberry.  This  character  of  ornamentation  is  more  commonly 
found  in  bands  on  the  women's  workbasket  and  on  mats  of  basket 
covers.  The  flecking  of  the  surface  of  twined  ware  with  dark  and 
light  spots  is  not  confined  to  the  Tlinkit,  but  will  be  observed  among 
all  Western  tribes  that  have  this  weave. 

4.  Crossed-warp   twined   weaving,   VVark   kus-ka  rt   ("ojre  holes" 
from  the  pohTgonal  meshes  of  the  openwork  weave),  in  which  the  warp 
splints  are  drawn  aside  from  the  perpendicular  at  a  lixed  angle,  the 
odd  numbers  trending  one  way  and  the  even  numbers  the  other.    These 
cross  each  other  successively  in  parallel  series,  just  after  which  they 
are  inclosed  and  held  in  place  by  the  ordinary  twining  of  two-woof 
strands.     The  size  of  the  meshes  is  regulated  by  the  distance  apart  of 
the  spirals  of  the  w^eave.     This  type  was  used  for  rather  long,  flat 
cases  or  bags,  but  more  particularly  for  spoon  baskets,  which  are  fit 
ted  witli  a  twisted  root  handle  to  hang  them  to  hooks  or  pegs  on  the 
wall.     In  later  years  ornamental  baskets  are  often  made  in  this  weave. 

5.  Three-strand  twined  weaving,  Uh  ta'hk-ka  (twisted).     This  gives 
a  longer  winding,  rope-like  appearance  to  the  weave  outside,  while 
on  the  inside  the  regular  twining  stitch  in  its  ridge-like  regularity  is 
seen.     It  is  strengthening  as  well  as  decorative  and  is  often  met  with 
in  circles  at  intervals  near  the  bottoms  of  the  larger,  older  baskets, 
which  are  required  for  the  heavier  work.     It  is  in  general  use  to-day 
as  a  single  line  of  woof  around  the  outer  circumference  of  the  cylin 
der   basket,  where  the  warp  splints  are   bent  upward   to   form  the 
sides.     Its  more  important  use  has  been  in  the  construction  of  the 
crown  of  the  hat  as  well  as  of  the  cylindrical  ornaments  surmounting 
it,  and  other  ceremonial  headdresses  among  both  the  Haida  arid  the 
Tlinkit, 

The  Tlinkit  do   not  seem  to  have  learned,  or  were  forbidden   by 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


409 


economy,  in  doubling-  the  warp  splints,  to  use  strips  from  the  outside 
of  the  root  and  to  lay  the  wrong*  sides  together  so  as  to  have  both  sur 
faces  smooth.  This  is  shown  in  the  mixed  twine  and  checker  work 
on  the  bottoms  of  baskets. 

Plate  146  is  a  collection  of  Tlinkit  twined  basketry  made  from  the 
roots  of  the  spruce  and  decorated  in  false  embroidery  with  wild  rye  or 
hair  grass,  either  in  the  natural  color  or  dyed.  It  will  be  observed  that 
the  figures  do  not  appear  on  the  inside  of  the  wallet.  Attention  is  also 
called  to  the  very  fine  workmanship  on  these  old  specimens,  especially 
upon  the  large  one  in  the  middle.  The  ornamentation,  in  its  symbolism, 


FIG.  137. 

TWINED  BASKET  WALLET. 

Tlinkit  Indians,  Alaska. 

Collected  by  J.  B.  White. 

has  reference  to  natural  features  and  waterways.     The  composition  of 
the  ornament  is  in  triangles  and  parallelograms. 

Fig.  137,  Catalogue  No.  21560  U.  S.  National  Museum,  is  a  twined 
basket  wallet  of  the  Tlinkit  Indians.  It  is  of  band-box  shape  when 
spread  out,  but  here  shown  as  folded  for  transportation.  The  bottom, 
warp,  and  twine  is  very  roughly  made  of  spruce  root  splints,  the 
former  radiating  from  the  center.  The  boundary  of  the  bottom  is  a 
single  row  of  three-strand  twine.  This  method  of  ornamenting  and 
strengthening  their  work  was  used  by  the  Tlinkits,  not  only  at  the 
bottom,  but  along  the  sides  and  near  the  top.  The  rest  of  the  body  is 
in  stripes  of  natural  spruce  root  color,  in  black  and  Indian  red,  done 
in  false  embroidery. 


410 


REPOKT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 


Figs.  138  and  139  illustrate  the  method  of  making  false  embroidery 
on  the  basketry  of  the  Tlinkit  Indians.  As  the  woman  proceeds  with 
her  work  she  wraps  the  grass  stem  once  around  each  strand  of  the 
regular  twine  when  it  comes  outside.  On  the  inside,  therefore,  there 
is  no  appearance  of  ornament;  the  figure  plainly  shows  how  this  work 
is  done  and  it  might  be  called  a  type  of  three-strand  twined  weaving  in 

which  one  of  the  elements  passes  inside 
the  warp.  Ornamentation  on  this  ware  is 
also  produced  by  dyeing  the  filaments  of 
which  the  basket  is  made.  This  specimen 
is  Catalogue  No.  20726  in  the  U.  S.  National 
Museum,  and  was  collected  by  James  G. 
Swan. 

Fig.  140,  from  the  Tlinkit  tribes  about 
Fort  Wrangell,  in  southeastern  Alaska,  is 
a  carrying  wallet  for  general  purposes. 
It  is  an  interesting  and  important  speci 
men  in  that  it  forms  the  connecting  link 
between  common  plain  in  and  out  weaving 
and  twined  work,  both  plain  and  twilled, 

from  the  tribes  immediate!}"  north  and  the  Haidas.  The  specimen 
is  made  of  spruce  root  and  the  rows  of  weaving  are  alternately 
twined  and  wicker  over  the  entire  surface  of  the  wallet.  In  examples 
already  described  this  combination  of  two  weaves  was  seen  on  the  bot 
toms,  for  economy,  but  in  this  piece  the  whole  surface  was  thus  cov 
ered.  The  coarser  type  is  shown  in  fig.  141  from  the  Tlinkit  Indians 
taken  from  the  bottom  of  basket  work  inclosing  a  bottle.  It  will  be 


FIG. 138. 

FALSE  EMBROIDERY. 

Tlinkit  Indians,  Alaska. 
Collected  by  J.  G.  Swan. 


FIG.  139. 
DETAIL  OF  FALSE  EMBROIDERY. 


seen  that  the  first  few  rounds  are  plain  twined  work;  after  that  the 
rows  are  far  enough  apart  to  allow  an  additional  row  of  wickerwork 
or  beading. 

Specimen  Catalogue  No.  168163  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  was 
collected  in  southeastern  Alaska  by  Herbert  G.  Ogden,  and  specimen 
No.  73755  was  collected  in  Neah  Bay,  Washington,  by  James  G.  Swan. 

Plate  147  represents  a  group  of  the  Tlinkit  Indian  basket  makers. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


411 


They  were  named  Kolosch  by  the  Russians  more  than  a  hundred  years 
ago,  because  they,  wore  lab  rets,  or  plugs  in  their  lips.     The  woman 


FIG.  140. 

CARRYING  WALLET. 

Tlinkit  Indians,  Alaska. 

Collected  by  Herbert  G.  Ogden. 


on  the  left  side  of  the  picture  has  a  modest  one  in  her  lower  lip,  but 
specimens  in  the  National  Museum  measure  as  much  as  3  inches  in 
diameter.  Owing  to  the  broken  condition  of  their  island  home  and 


FIG.  141. 
TWINED  AND  WICKER  WEAVE. 

Tlinkit  Indians,  Alaska. 
Cat.  No.  73755,  U.S.N.M.    Collected  by  J.  G.  Swan. 


the  large  ownership  of  personal  property  they  are  divided  into  innu 
merable   villages   or   Kwans.      The   best  known  basket  makers  are 


412 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 


Chilkats,  Hunahs,  Sitkas,  Takoos,  Tongass,  and  Yakutats.a  It  will 
be  noted  in  looking  at  the  women  in  the  group  that  the  Tlimdts  are  a 
well-fed,  vigorous  race.  The  Russians  spoke  well  of  them,  not  only 
for  their  physical  qualities  but  for  their  intelligence. 

The  group  is  a  study  in  more  respects  than  in  basketry.  They  are 
all  clad  in  trade  goods.  As  to  jewelry,  one  wears  her  rings  on  her 
ringers,  but  the  chief  woman  has  hers  in  the  septum  of  her  nose.  Old 
forms  of  basketry  are  mingled  with  covered  bottles  and  the  ubiquitous 
can  (Kanastron),  formerly  a  basket  both  in  Greek  and  Tlinkit,  stands 
by  the  side  of  the  genuine  article.  Before  leaving  the  group  it  is 

worth  while  to  recall  that 
with  thrifty  tribes  new  tricks 
of  handicraft  are  readily 
borrowed  and  too  much 
stress  must  not  be  laid  on 
the  assumption  of  identity 
of  race  because  of  identity 
of  art.  It  is  worth  while  to 
linger  here  a  moment.  The 
Attu  woman  as  well  as  the 
old  time  Algonquian  tribes 
did  suspend  warp  for  bas 
kets  and  matting,  but  here 
among  the  Chilkat  is  to  be 
seen  the  pristine  loom.  It 
is  not  surprising  when  it  is 
remembered  that  here  the 
Rocky  Mountain  goat  is  at 
home. 

On  the  main  land  of  the 
northern  Pacific  slope  the 
mountain  goat  (Oreamnos 

montanw)  abounds.  From  the  Chilkat  Indians  about  Mount  St.  Elias 
southward  to  the  Nez  Perces  of  Idaho,  blankets  are  woven  from  the 
wool.  These  fabrics  are,  in  their  manufacture,  the  transition  from 
basketry  to  loom  work.  They  are  in  twined  weaving.  The  only 
shuttles  are  the  skillful  fingers  of  Indian  women;  the  warp  hangs  down 
loose  from  a  pole  or  bar,  and  the  work  of  twine  is  upward,  precisely 
as  in  Haida  basketry.  (See  Plate  148.) 

Vernori  Bailey  says  of  the  material  that  the  winter  coat  of  the 
mountain  goat  is  a  dense  piece  of  long,  soft  wool,  with  strong,  coarse 
hairs  scattered  through  it.  In  spring  and  early  summer,  when  the 
wool  is  being  shed,  and  hangs  in  loose  strings  on  the  goat,  it  catches 
on  bushes  and  rocks  and  the  low  branches  of  timber  line  trees.  On 

2  On  the  Ethnology  of  the  Tribes  of  the  West  Coast,  see  Franz  Boas,  in  the  Pro 
ceedings  of  the  British  Association  for  1884  and  following  years. 


FIG.  142. 

WALLET. 

Chilkat  Indians,  Southeastern  Alaska. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


413 


the   .slopes   above  timber   line   in   May   and   June   every    bush    and 
tall  dry  weed  will  be  festooned  with  tufts  of  wool  that  could  be  picked 
off  in  handfulls.     In  a  good  goat  region  the  Indians  might  gather  wool 
enough  for  a  large  part  of  their 
clothing  without  the  trouble  of 
killing  one. 

Fig.  142  is  a  section  of  a  wallet 
made  by  the  Chilkat  Indians 
(Koluschan  family)  in  southeast 
ern  Alaska.  The  material  is  the 
young  root  of  spruce.  It  is  here 
introduced  to  show  the  effect  on 
the  surface  of  several  kinds  of 
weaving  before  described.  Be 
ginning  at  the  bottom  of  the 
drawing  there  are  eight  rows  of 
alternate  plain  twined  and  checker  weaving.  At  the  margin  of  this 
lower  portion,  and  also  at  the  upper  margin  of  the  drawing,  will  be 
found  a  row  of  twined  work  set  on  the  regular  twined  weaving  for 


FIG.  143. 

HAT   IN  FINE  TWINED  WEAVING. 

Haida  Indians,  British  Columbia. 
C'at.  No.  89033,  U.S.N.M.    Collected  by  James  G.  Swan. 


FlG.  144. 
DETAIL  OF  FIG.  143. 


strength  and  ornament.  The  upper  portion  of  the  wallet  is  a  mix 
ture  of  plain  twined  work  over  one  warp  splint  and  twilled  twine 
weaving  over  two  warp  splints,  making  a  diagonal  pattern  on  the 
surface.  The  rope  is  made  of  the  same  material, 


414 


EEPOKT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 


II  AID  A    BASKETRY 

The  Haida  Indians  live  on  Queen  Charlotte  Archipelago  and  adjacent 

islands.     Their  basket  work  is  all  in  twined  weaving  arid  differs  from 

that  of  the  Tlinkits  in 
artistic  finish  only,  owing 
probably  to  the  demands 
of  trade.  Their  wallets 
of  spruce  are  devoid  of 
decoration,  save  here  and 
there  a  band  in  plain 
black  color,  as  would  be 
the  Tlinkit  without  em 
broidery;  but  hats  made 
by  these  Indians  are  mas 
terpieces  in  execution  and 
ornamental  weaving.  The 
crown  is  in  three  strand 
or  plain  twined  weaving 
of  the  most  delicate  work 
manship,  and  the  fabric 
is  perfectly  water-tight 
when  thoroughly  wet. 
Ornamentation  is  intro 
duced  into  the  brims  by 
a  series  of  diamond  pat 
terns  in  twilled  weave 
covering  the  whole  sur 
face.  This  decoration  is 
produced  thus:  Beginning 

at  a  certain  point,  the  weaver  includes  two  warp  strands  in  a  half  twist 

instead  of  one;   then  makes  two  regular  twists  around  single  warp 

strands.     The  next  time  she  weaves  around 

she   repeats   the   process,    but   her    double 

stitch   is  one  warp  stem  in   advance  of  or 

behind  its  predecessor.    A  twilled  effect  of 

any    shape    may    be    thus    produced,   and 

rhombs,   triangulated  fillets,  and  chevrons 

made   to   appear   on   either   surface.     (See 

figs.  143  and  141.) 

The   fastening  off   of   the  work  is   done 

either  by  bending  down  the  free  ends  of 

the   warp   and  shoving  them  out  of   sight 

under  the  stitches  of  the  twisted  web  or  a 

braid  of  four  strands  forms  the  last  row,  set  on  so  that  the  braid 

shows  outside  and  only  one  strand  at  a  time  shows  inside.     The  ends 

of  the  warp  splints  are  then  cropped  close  to  the  braid. 


FIG.  145. 

TWINED  OPENWORK  BASKET. 
Haida  Indians. 

Cat.  No.  88%4,  U.S.X.M.     Collected  )>y  Jame 


FIG.  146. 
DETAIL  OF  FIG.  145, 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


415 


Special  attention  should  be  paid  to  the  fact  that  the  ornamentation 
on  these  hats  is  painted  and  not  woven. 
(See  fig.  143.)  Not  far  away,  on  the 
mainland,  the  same  motives  appear  on 
blankets,  woven  into  the  texture.  Figs. 
143  and  144  show  the  head,  wings,  feet, 
and  tail  of  the  duck,  laid  on  in  black 
and  red  in  the  conventional  manner 
of  ornamentation  in  vogue  among  the 
Haidas  and  used  in  the  reproduction 
of  their  various  totems  on  all  of  their 
houses,  wood  and  slate  carvings,  and 
the  ornamentation  of  their  implements/' 
Shells,  beads,  and  feathers  are  often 
sewed  on  in  profusion. 

Catalogue  No.  88964:,  collected  by 
J.  G.  Swan,  is  a  twined  openwork  bas 
ket  of  spruce  root  made  by  the  Haida 
Indians.  This  piece  of  coarse  work 
manship  shows  both  phases — the  open 
and  the  close  weave  in  rough  inner 
splints.  The  handle  is  a  twine  of  the 
same  material  fastened  into  the  weaving 
while  it  is  in  progress.  The  border  is 
effected  by  bending  down  the  warp  ele 
ments  at  the  rim  externally  and  sewing 
them  in  place  with  a  row  of  twined 
weaving. 

A  square  inch  of  this  specimen  taken 
near  the  top,  where  the  open  work  and 
the  close  work  come  together,  is  shown. 
(See  figs.  14:5,14:6.) 

Fig.  14:7  shows  an  unfinished  Haida 
cylindrical  basket.  In  order  to  explain 
the  process  of  manufacture,  the  bottom 
is  in  plain  twined  weaving;  at  the  border 
where  this  joins  the  cylindrical  side  is  a 
row  of  three  strand;  and  four  rows  of 
plain  twined  weaving  of  the  body  come 
next,  the  unfinished  portion  exhibiting 
the  warp  as  it  appears  before  weaving. 


FIG.  147. 


UNFINISHED  BASKET. 

Haida  Indians. 
Collected  by  James  G.  Swan. 


«  A  very  interesting  instance  of  survival  is  to  be  seen  in  the  rag  carpets  of  these 
Indians.  The  missionaries  have  taught  the  women  to  save  up  their  rags  and  to  cover 
their  floors  with  pretty  mats.  They  are  allowed  to  weave  them  in  their  own  way, 
however,  and  the  result  is  constructed  on  the  ancient  twined  model,  precisely  as  the 
weaving  is  done  on  the  mats  and  hats. 


416 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 


Especial  attention  is  here  called  to  the  sharpened  stake  which  has  a 
circular  board  on  top.  This  is  driven  into  the  ground,  and  the  woman 
seated  works  upward  instead  of  downward,  as  in  most  cases.  This 
•specimen,  Catalogue  No.  89033  in  the  U.  S  National  MuseunT^TFas 
procured  in  Queen  Charlotte  Archipelago  lr\*  James  G.  Swan.  (See 
fig.  148.)  It  will  he  remembered  that  in  an  ancient  drawing  showing 
how  the  Virginia  women  made  basketry  the  woman  is  seated  in  pre 
cisely  the  same  fashion  and  is  working  from  below  upward. 

Plate  149  represents  old  twined 
wallets  of  the  Haida  Indians,  Queen 
Charlotte  Island,  British  Columbia. 
The  material  is  splints  of  spruce, 
some  of  which  have  been  dyed  sim 
ply  by  immersing  in  dark-colored 
mud.  The  Haidas  used  little  color 
decoration  other  than  black  bands 
in  their  work,  but  they  have  learned 
the  art  of  producing  figures  by  in 
cluding  more  than  warp  element  in 
the  twining.  They  also  know  the 
art  of  three-strand  twined  work,  as 
will  be  seen  on  the  upper  border 
of  the  two  larger  wallets.  The 
borders  are  finished  off  by  false 
embroidery. 

Plate  150  represents  a  company  of  Haida  Indian  basketmakers,  pho 
tographed  by  J.  G.  Swan.  They  are  in  modern  dress,  but  wear  nose 
ring*  and  labret  common  to  their  tribe. 


FIG.  148. 
VIRGINIA  INDIAN  WOMAN  WEAVING  A  BASKET. 

After  W.  H.  Holmes. 


THE  FRASER-COLUMBIA  REGION 

Basketry  is  the  most   expressive  vehicle  of  the  tribe's  individuality,   the    embodiment  of  its 
mythology  pnd  folklore,  tradition,  poetry,  art,  and  spiritual  aspiration. — NELT.JE  BLANCHAN. 

The  next  general  area  for  study  will  be  the  drainage  region  of  the 
Fraser  River  and  the  Columbia  River.  The  families  to  be  visited  will 
be  the  Chirnmeseyan,  Wakashan  or  Aht,  Salishan,  Shahaptian,  and 
Chinookan.  Other  smaller  groups  are  scattered  around  and  will  be 
treated  at  the  proper  place  in  the  text.  The  transition  from  south 
eastern  Alaska  to  this  area  is  almost  imperceptible  in  some  respects 
and  radical  in  others.  The  Tlinkit  false  embroidery  will  not  disap 
pear,  but  it  will  be  remanded  to  a  far  humbler  place.  The  roots  and 
inner  bark  of  the  cedar  will  occupy  the  front  rank.  Coiled  and  imbri 
cated  work,  unknown  among  the  Tlinkits  and  Haidas,  will  bloom  out 
in  British  Columbia  and  Washington.  The  semiflexible  wallet  will 
be  replaced  by  the  rigid  cooking  basket  and  the  soft  bags  of  hemp. 
The  differentiation  from  the  next  area  south  of  it  will  also  be  marked. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  417 

The  small  Chimmeseyan  family,  also  called  Tsimshian  and  better 
known  as  Nass,  are  the  extreme  northern  of  the  group.  Their  bas 
ketry  is  of  root  and  runs  largely  into  the  mixed  twined,  checker,  and 
twilled. 

NecessarihT  coming  southward  from  the  spruce-root  country  to  the 
cedar  area  would  have  the  effect  to  change  much  of  the  basketry  from 
rigid  surfaces  to  flexible  and  from  twined  weaving  to  checker  and 
twilled  work.  The  National  Museum  possesses  no  specimens  of 
Chimmeseyan  ware  of  striking  individuality. 

The  Wakashan  tribes  occupy  northern  and  western  Vancouver  Island, 
the  coast  of  British  Columbia,  and  a  small  point  of  land  in  the  north 
west  corner  of  Washington.  They  are  generally  known  by  the  name 
Aht  or  Nootka  on  Vancouver  Island,  and  include  Boas's  Kwakiutl 
and  the  Bella  Bella  and  Haeltzuk  on  the  mainland.  In  recent  years 
they  have  been  studied  by  Boas,  by  Tolmie  and  Dawson,  and  by  Swan. 

A  list  of  authorities  will  be  found 
given  by  J.  W.  Powell a  and  l)y  Boas.& 

In  addition  to  the  matting,  both 
checker  and  twilled,  quite  common 
throughout  this  region,  the  Wakashan 
tribes  of  Vancouver  Island  and  Wrash- 
ington  make  a  type  of  basketry  which 
is  called  in  this  paper  the  bird-cage  or 
wrapped  twined  work,  in  which  one 
element  of  the  weft  remains  inside 
of  the  basket,  and  the  other  element,  FJG-  149. 

Which    is    more    flexible,    is    wrapped  DETAIL  OF  WRAPPED  BASKET. 

,         ,      ,  i          j  , .  j«    j  i  Clallam  Indians. 

about  the   decussations  of  the  warp 
and  the  rigid  element  of  the  weft.    It 

might  also  be  called  the  "fish- trap"  style,  since  without  doubt  the  finer 
basketry  is  the  lineal  descendant  of  the  rude  wicker  fish  trap.  Imagine 
a  number  of  stakes  driven  into  the  ground  pretty  close  together.  A 
horizontal  pole  is  laid  against  them  in  the  rear,  and  by  the  wrappings 
of  a  withe  around  the  pole  and  each  upright  stake  diagonally  on  the 
outside  and  vertically  on  the  inside  a  spiral  fastening  is  produced.  It 
is  shown  in  the  openwork  basket,  Catalogue  No.  23480,  U.  S.  National 
Museum,  made  by  a  Clallam  Indian.  This  wrapping  crosses  the  two 
fundamentals  in  front  at  an  angle  and  the  horizontal  frame  piece  in  the 
rear  at  right  angles,  arid  the  lacing  may  always  run  in  the  same  direc 
tion,  or  the  alternate  rows  of  lacing  may  run  in  opposite  directions, 
as  in  fig.  149.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  in  a  soft  and  pliable  material  this 
operation  pushes  the  uprights  forward  a  little,  giving  to  the  fabric  an 
appearance  of  the  lathe  work  on  the  back  of  a  watch.  (See  fig.  150.) 

a  Seventh  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  1891,  p.  128. 
&  Reports  to  the  British  Association,  1889-1891. 

NAT  MUS  1902 27 


418 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 


The  Wakashan  weaving  is  not  confined  to  this  particular  technic, 
but,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  illustrations  here  shown  (fig.  151),  it  is 
checker  work  on  the  bottom,  three-ply  twine  between,  separating  the 


FIG  .  150. 

WRAPPED  TWINED   BASKET. 

Makah  Indians,  Cape  Flattery. 
Collected  by  James  G.  Swan. 

checker  work  from  the  plain  twine  which  completes  the  bottom.  The 
sides  are  built  up  of  cedar -bark  warp,  both  vertical  and  horizontal,  and 
a  wrapping  of  golden-colored  grass  stems.  These  straws  take  different 

colored  dyes  readily,  and  so  the  Ma- 
kahs  have  learned  to  ornament  their 
baskets  with  geometric  patterns  in 
black,  yellow,  drab,  red,  blue,  etc. 
The  pattern,  therefore,  is  alike  on 
both  sides,  although  the  wrappings 
are,  as  in  Clallam,  Nez  Perce,  and 
other  specimens,  inclined  on  the  out 
side  and  vertical  on  the  inside.  The 
rows  of  wrappings  run  at  an  angle 
of  45  degrees,  which  separate  the 
elements,  having  a  rhomboid  ap 
pearance. 

This  specimen,  Catalogue  No.  2334(5 
in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  was 
collected,  with  many  others  (Nos. 

23343  to  23368),  in  Neah  Bay,  Washington,  by  James  G.  Swan.  (See 
figs.  149-151.) 

In  the  Peabody  Museum  of  Harvard  University  are  eight  old  bas 
ket  hats,  supposed,  by  C.  C.  Willoughby,  to  have  originated  among 
the   Southern  Wakashan   tribes,    probably  the   Nutkas.     Lewis  and 


FIG.  151. 

BOTTOM   OF  MAKAH   BASKET. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


419 


Clark  described  them  as  "made  of  cedar  bark  and  bear  grass  inter 
woven  in  the  form  of  a  European  hat  with  small  brim.  They  formed  a 
a  small  article  of  traffic  with  the  whites,  and  their  manufacture  is  one 
of  the  best  exertions  of  Indian  industry."  They  say  that  "the  only 
covering-  for  their  head  is  a  hat  made  of  bear  grass  and  the  bark  of 
cedar  interwoven  in  a  cone  form  with  a  knob  of  the  same  shape  at 
the  top.  The  colors  are  generally  biack  and  white  only,  and  the 
designs  are  squares,  triangles,  and  rude  figures  of  canoes  and  seamen 
harpooning  whales."  Captain  Cook  found  the  same  form  of  head 
covering  worn  by  the  Indians  of  Nutka  Sound.  (See  Plate  151.) 

Mr.  Willoughby  a  describes  the  hats  in  the  Peabody  Museum  (Plate 
151)  as  follows: 

They  are  all  in  twined  weaving,  and  are  made  principally  of  cedar  bark  and  grass 
spires.  The  construction  is  double,  as  shown  in  the  cross  section  (fig.  153).  Each 
headpiece  consists  really  of  two  hats,  an  inner  and  an  outer  one,  joined  at  the  rim,  the 


FIG.  152. 
DETAIL  OF  NUTKA  KAT. 

After  O.  C.  Willoughby,  Peabody  Museum. 


FIG.  153. 

CROSS  SECTION  OF  NUTKA  HAT. 
After  C.  C.  Willoughby,  Peabody  Musue 


last  few  pairs  of  twisted  woof  elements  of  the  outer  hat  inclosing  also  the  ends  of  the 
warp  of  the  inner.  The  inner  hat,  or  lining,  is  coarsely  but  neatly  woven  of  cedar 
bark,  and  only  in  one  specimen  is  there  a  knob  at  the  top  of  the  lining  correspond 
ing  to  that  of  the  outer  hat.  Upon  the  underside  at  about  3  inches  from  the 
rim  each  warp  element  is  doubled  upon  itself,  forming  a  loop  about  three-fourths  of 
an  inch  long.  Through  these  loops  is  run  a  strong  double  cord  of  Indian  hemp. 
The  loops  are  bound  together  by  tw'ined  weaving  (fig.  152),  and  form  an  inner  rim 
edged  with  the  cord  of  hemp,  which  fits  the  head  snugly.  To  this  is  fastened  the 
thong  which  passes  beneath  the  chin  of  the  wearer. 

The  exterior  or  outer  hat  is  woven  principally  of  grass  spires  and  cedar  bark.  "  In 
most  of  the  specimens  a  narrow  strip  below  the  knob  is  made  of  fine  cedar  roots. 
The  warp  appears  to  be  formed  of  split  roots,  and  is  fine  and  strong.  The  grass  ot 
the  woof  was  originally  an  ivory  white,  the  selected  cedar  bark  used  in  conjunction 
with  it  being  usually  stained  a  dark  brown  or  black. 

Each  strand  of  the  twisted  pair  of  woof  elements  forming  the  design  is  composed 
of  a  grass  spire  overlaying  a  strip  of  cedar  bark  of  the  same  width,  the  strand 


v  American  Naturalist,  XXXVII,  1903,  pp.  65-68 


420  EEPOET  OF  NATIONAL  MUSEUM,  15)02. 

thus  formed  being  white  upon  one  side  and  black  upon  the  other.  These  double 
strands  are  used  not  only  where  figures  appear,  but  throughout  the  groundwork 
of  the  design  as  well.  The  figures  are  principally  black  upon  a  white  ground.  In 
forming  them  the  strands  are  simply  reversed,  the  black  sides  which  were  con 
cealed  beneath  the  grass  spires  in  the  white  background  being  carried  outward. 
In  some  of  the  specimens  the  knob  at  the  top  is  woven  separately  and  afterwards 
joined  to  the  hat.  (See  figs.  152,15:5.) 

Comparing  the  descriptions  with  the  technical  processes  worked  out 
in  this  paper,  it  is  evident  that  the  Nutka  tribes  understood  what 
is  called  overlaying.  It  is  not  the  Makah  wrapped  weaving  nor 
like  the  Nez  Perec  and  other  Shahaptian  weave,  hut  will  be  found 
in  the  Modoc  and  other  California  tribes  as  well  as  abundant!}7 
among  the  Salish.  (See  Plate  155,  tig.  5.)  The  double  hat  is  sug- 
gestiA'e  of  the  Orient,  from  which  the  royal  Spanish  fleet  returned 
by  way  of  Vancouver  every  year  for  two  centuries  (1570—1770). 

The  National  Museum  has  an  example  of  twilled  weaving  from  Van 
couver  Island,  which  should  be  compared  with  Clallam  ware.  It  is  a 
large  fish  basket  made  from  the  split  root  of  a  cedar.  Attempts  at 
ornamentation  are,  first,  in  using  alternately  the  smooth,  natural 
wood  and  the  inner,  coarse  surface  of  the  splint,  also  by  introducing 
strips  in  cedar  root  with  the  bark  adherent,  and  finally,  by  laying  on 
the  outside  certain  strips  the  leaves  of  bear  grass.  With  this  variety 
of  material,  although  the  basket  is  as  coarse  as  it  can  be,  the  effect  is 
excellent.  The  finishing  off'  is  in  three  rows  of  twined  weaving,  in 
which  black  yarn  and  bear  grass  are  laid  on  the  fiber  to  give  variety 
and  color.  The  upright  elements  in  the  weaving  are  bent  down  on 
the  inside  and  held  together  by  a  continuous  row  of  buttonhole  stitches. 
On  the  border  is  a  scallop  formed  by  a  two-strand  rope  which  passes 
underneath  the  border,  back  and  through  itself.  Dimensions:  height, 
18  inches;  width,  2-i  inches.  Collected  by  G.  T.  Emmons.  (See 
Plate  152.) 

Plate  153  is  a  delightful  mixture  of  two  extremes  in  culture.  Two 
Makah  or  Nutka  women  are  clad  in  calico,  woolen  blanket,  piano  cover, 
bandana  handkerchiefs,  etc.,  not  neglecting  the  latest  patent  in  safety 
pins.  They  are  seated  on  a  mat  of  cattail  (Typha  latifolia)  steins, 
sewed  together  in  genuine  aboriginal  fashion,  known  before  Columbus. 
And  their  fingers  are  following  their  conservative  thoughts  as  though 
these  cunning  weavers  had  been  born  centuries  ago.  They  are  making 
from  filaments  of  cedar  bark  and  leaves  of  squaw  grass  the  kind  of 
twined  weaving  called  wrapped  in  this  paper  (figs.  13,  14).  The  warp 
is  plain,  twisted  from  cedar  bark.  One  element  of  the  weft  is  of 
the  same  material  and  laid  horizontally  inside  the  warp;  the  other 
weft  element,  of  squaw  grass  (Xerophyllum  tenax),  is  wrapped  in  a 
continuous  coil  about  the  intersections  of  the  other  two  elements. 
The  photograph  is  from  Capt.  D.  F.  Tozicr, 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  421 

One  of  the  largest  families  and  most  diversified,  so  far  as  industries 
are  concerned,  are  the  Salishan  tribes,  east  and  south  of  the  Wakashan 
A  small  and  detached  body  of  them  are  to  be  found  on  Bentinck  Arms, 
northern  British  Columbia,  hemmed  in  on  the  east  by  Athapascan 
tribes  and  on  the  west  b}r  Wakashan  tribes.  The  rest  of  the  family  are 
spread  out  in  British  Columbia  and  Washington,  extending  from 
Puget  Sound  northward,  southward,  and  eastward  across  Idaho  and 
even  into  Montana.  A  small  body  of  the  same  family  are  on  the 
Oregon  coast,  about  the  forty-fifth  parallel. 

Situated  as  these  tribes  are,  in  the  midst  of  so  many  other  linguistic 
families,  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  a  great  variety  in  the  types  of 
their  basketry.  In  the  plates  here  sliQwn  (Plates  154  and  155)  fig.  1 
represents  plain  checker  weaving;  fig.  2,  twilled  weaving,  in  which 
both  warp  and  weft  pass  over  two;  fig.  3,  another  form  of  twilled 
work,  in  which  warp  and  weft  pass  alternately  over  two  and  under  one. 
Figs.  -1  and  5  show  the  methods  of  coiled  and  imbricated  sewing 
in  the  bottom  and  on  the  body  of  a  Thompson  River  or  a  so-called 
Klikitat  basket.  Especial  attention  will  be  called  later  to  these 
types.  Fig.  0  is  plain  twined  weaving  in  openwork.  Fig.  7  is  an 
example  of  plain  twined  weaving  in  openwork  over  crossed  warp 
of  a  special  character  in  which  every  alternate  one  is  vertical  and 
the  other  inclined.  It  can  be  easily  seen  by  looking  at  the  figure 
that  warps  arranged  vertically  and  parallel,  ever}7  other  one  turns 
to  the  left  and  is  caught,  not  in  the  twist  just  above  it,  but  in  the 
first  one  beyond.  Figs.  8  and  9  show  the  outside  and  inside  of  lat 
ticed  or  bird-cage  work;  fig.  10,  a  form  of  twined  work  in  which 
the  tough  fiber  is  overlaid  by  grass  leaves  or  other  colored  fiber, 
adding  to  the  ornamentation  but  not  to  the  strength;  fig.  11,  false 
embroidery,  in  which  the  outer  element  of  the  twine  is  wrapped 
with  an  additional  filament.  Myron  Eells,  who  has  spent  many 
years  among  them,  and  to  whom  Plates  154  and  155  are  to  be 
credited,  asserts  that  styles  of  weaving  peculiar  to  the  stocks  near  by 
are  practiced  by  a  f  ew  women  of  Salishan  tribes.  This  can  be  accounted 
for  in  two  ways — women  from  these  outside  stocks  may  have  married 
into  the  tribes  under  consideration,  or,  as  is  frequently  the  case,  the 
Salish  women,  in  order  to  learn  something  new,  have  taken  up  the 
methods  of  their  neighbors. 

Immediately  south  of  the  Haidas  and  Tlinkits,  the  bark  of  the 
white  cedar  (Thuja  plicata)  becoming  common,  the  inner  portion  is 
quite  tenacious,  and  since  filaments  of  almost  any  required  width  and 
length  may  be  obtained,  checkerwork  weaving  is  in  demand  for  mats, 
sails,  receptacles  for  all  sorts  of  objects,  parts  of  house  furniture, 
and  even  of  clothing.  The  figure  here  shown  is  a  typical  example 
of  manv  hundreds  of  such  baskets  to  be  found  in  collections.  The 


422 


REPORT    OF   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1902. 


bottom  and  sides  are  in  the  same  type  of  weaving.  By  an  endless 
variety  of  real  and  proportional  width  of  warp  and  weft  and  by  col 
oring*  some  of  the  strips  an  indefinite  number  of  patterns  may  be 
produced.  (See  iig.  154.) 

In  many  cedar-bark  receptacles  of  this  region  the  two  sets  of  fila 
ments — warp  and  weft — run  diagonally;  that  is,  the}T  are  not  woven 
as  in  a  loom,  but  the  maker  begins  at  the  corner.  Looked  at  verti 
cally,  the  surface  has  a  diamond  rather  than  a  checker  appearance,  but 
from  the  point  of  view  of  the  maker  the  intersections  are  square. 
Again,  but  much  more  rarely,  three  sets  of  filaments  are  involved, 
two  belonging  to  the  warp  and  the  other  one  to  the  weft.  The  warp 
elements  cross  at  right  angles  or  less,  and  the  weft  element  runs 
across  through  the  intersections,  making  a  series  of  rhombs.  This 
same  technic  is  almost  universal  in  Japan. 


FIG.  154. 

CHECKERWORK   BASKET. 

Bilhula  Indians,  British  Columbia. 
Collected  by  James  U.  Swan. 

In  addition  to  the  oblique  method  of  weaving  the  checker  patterns 
in  cedar  bark,  occasional  diagonally  or  twilled  weaving  is  to  be  seen 
in  the  same  area. 

A  large  collection  of  these  were  gathered  by  James  G.  Swan  along 
the  coast  of  British  Columbia,  and  are  now  for  examination  in  the 
U.  S.  National  Museum. 

Ornamentation  in  bark  work  is  effected  both  by  introducing  different 
colored  strands  and  by  varying  the  width  of  the  warp  and  the  woof 
threads.  In  many  examples  the  bottom  of  the  basket  is  bordered  and 
outlined  with  one  or  more  rows  of  the  twined  or  plaited  style  of  weav 
ing  to  give  greater  stability  and  definition  to  the  form.  Cedar  mats  of 
large  size  and  made  with  the  greatest  care  enter  as  extensively  into 
the  daily  life  of  the  Indians  of  this  vicinity  as  do  the  buffalo  robes  into 
that  of  the  Dakota  Indians. 

The  Bilhulas  made  very  neat  baskets,  called  "Zeibusqna"  as  well 
as  hats  and  water-tight  vessels,  all  of  fine  cedar  roots. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  423 

They  boil  the  cedar  root  until  it  becomes  pliable  to  be  worked  by  the  hand  and 
beaten  with  sticks,  when  they  pick  the  fibers  apart  into  threads.  The  warp  is  of  a 
different  material — sinews  of  the  whale,  or  dried  kelp  thread. 

They  also  are  expert  in  weaving  the  inner  bark  of  the  cedar. 

It  is  not  astonishing-  that  a  material  so  easily  woven  should  have 
found  its  way  so  extensively  in  the  industries  of  this  stock  of  Indians. 
Neither  should  we  wonder  that  the  checker  pattern  in  weaving  should 
first  appear  on  the  west  coast  among  the  only  people  possessing  a 
material  eminently  adapted  to  this  form  of  manipulation.  It  is  only 
another  example  of  that  beautiful  harmony  between  man  and  nature 
which  delights  the  anthropologist  at  every  step  of  his  journey. 

Farther  south  in  British  Columbia  a  Salish  people  demanding  care 
ful  attention  are  those  formerly  called  Couteau  or  Knife  Indians  by 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  people.  Their  home  is  the  southern 
interior  of  British  Columbia,  mostly  east  of  the  Coast  Range,  and  is 
about  100  miles  long  and  90  miles  wide.  Their  basketry  is  described 
by  James  Teit  of  Spences  Bridge,  British  Columbia. a  The  basket 
work  above  Lytton  is  of  birch  bark,  spruce  bark,  and  willow  twigs, 
and  the  rims  ornamented  with  stitches  made  from  the  bark  ofPrunus 
demissa.  The  Indians  on  the  lower  division  of  the  Thompson  River 
and  on  the  Upper  Fraser  make  beautiful  coiled  and  imbricated  baskets 
of  cedar  roots  (Thuja plicata)  This  type  of  basketry  is  also  made  by 
the  Chilcotin  and  Lillooet,  and  Shushwap,  who  are  said  to  employ 
spruce  root. 

William  Arnott,  of  North  Bend,  gives  the  following  Thompson  River 
Indian  names  for  baskets:  Tsai,  ordinary  oblong  style;  spanach, 
small  oblong  and  square;  spa  panach,  very  small;  nikwoeten,  round; 
spanikwoeten,  small  round;  sklokw,  very  large. 

Wallets  are  made  of  a  twined  weaving,  the  character  of  which  is 
shown  in  Teit's  fig.  132.  Designs  on  these  fabrics  are  in  embroidery 
or  by  weaving  colored  grasses  or  bark  twine  into  the  fabric,  as 
shown  in  the  same  figure.  This  style  of  weaving  seems  to  have  been 
acquired  recently  through  intercourse  with  the  Sahaptin. 

The  Lower  Thompson  Indians  weave  mats  of  strips  of  cedar  bark  of 
the  same  style  as  those  used  by  the  coast  Indians  (Teit's  fig.  133). 

At  the  present  day  rag  mats  or  rugs  are  often  made  from  scraps  of 
cloth,  calico,  etc.  The  patterns  on  these  are  mostly  the  same  as  those 
on  basketry. 

The  Thompson  Indians  also  practice  twined  weaving  in  coarse  bag 
ging  and  in  matting  from  tule  (Scifpus),  bulrush  (Typlia  lati/olia),  and 
the  twined  weft  of  the  bark  of  Apocynum  cannabinum.  These  Indians 
also  knew  how  to  make  mats  by  stringing  them.  The  reed  or  stick  is 
perforated  at  two  or  more  places  and  a  cord  passed  through  the  holes. 

It  is  interesting  to  find  among  them  also  blankets  made  from  twisted 

"Memoirs  of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  II,  1900,  pp.  163-392. 


424  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

strips  of  rabbit  skin  used  as  weft  and  laid  together  by  twined  weaving. 
Attention  is  especially  called  to  a  method  of  ornamental  overlaying 
among  the  Thompson  River  Indians  that  has  not  a  wide  distribution. 
An  ordinary  Avallet  is  made  of  twined  work  from  the  fiber  of  Apocynnm 
canncibinum  and  Asclepias  speciosa.  In  the  fabric  these  do  not  differ 
from  the  world-wide  twined  weaving,  but  in  the  ornamentation  a  strip 
of  grass  or  other  colored  material— maybe  corn  husk — is  wrapped 
around  the  twined  work  as  it  proceeds.  Comparing  this  with  the 
Makah  wrapped  work  the  twined  weft  takes  the  place  of  the  strip  laid 
behind  the  vertical  warps,  the  wrapping  is  precisely  the  same,  but  in 
the  Thompson  River  work  the  patterns  are  quite  similar  on  both 
sides,  only  the  elements  are  oblique  on  the  outside  and  vertical  on  the 
inside. 

The  weaving  of  blankets  by  basketry  processes  was  formerly  an 
important  industry  among  them.  The  coast  Indians  utilized  both  dog 
hair  and  goat  hair  in  their  manufacture,  but  the  Thompson  Indians 
seemed  to  have  used  the  latter  only.  Sometimes  the  wool  was  made 
whiter  or  cleaned  by  mixing  a  quantity  of  baked  white  diatomaceous 
earth  with  it  and  beating  the  whole  with  a  fiat  stick.  The  manner  of 
making  the  thread  is  exactly  the  same  as  that  described  by  Dr.  Boas 
for  the  process  employed  by  the  Songish.  The  loom  and  spindle  are 
also  the  same,  excepting  that  both  disk  and  shaft  of  the  latter  are  of 
wood.  The  whole  process  of  blanket  making  and  the  implements  used 
are  said  to  be  exactly  the  same  as  those  found  among  the  Lower  Eraser 
Indians.  Most  blankets  had  a  fringe  of  tassels,  6  to  9  inches  in  length, 
along  one  end.  Black  bear's  hair  made  into  threads,  and  spun  threads 
of  goat's  hair  dyed  either  yellow  with  lichens  or  red  with  alder  bark, 
were  woven  into  the  blankets  in  patterns  similar  to  those  used  in  bas 
ketry.  The  Indians  of  Spuzzum  continue  to  make  these  blankets  at 
the  present  day. 

For  making  nets,  threads  of  the  bark  of  Apocynum  cannabinum  were 
used.  A  wooden  netting  stick  (Teit's  fig.  184)  served  for  making  the 
meshes  of  equal  size.  The  meshes  were  tied  with  a  square  knot. 

The  Rev.  Myron  Eel  Is  states  that  the  imbricated  basketry  is  made 
by  the  Puyallups,  Twanas,  Snohomish,  Clallam,  Skagit,  Cowlitz,  Che- 
halis,  Nisqually,  Spokan,  and  Squakson  who  are  Salish,  as  well  as 
by  the  Yakima  and  Klikitat  Indians  of  middle  and  western  Wash 
ington  who  are  Shahaptian.  Only  women  and  girls  are  basket 
makers;  they  use  in  securing  material  the  ordinary  root  digger. 
Pieces  of  the  desired  length  and  about  the  thickness  of  a  finger  are 
buried  in  the  ground  to  keep  them  fresh.  When  required  they  are 
taken  out  and  peeled  with  a  sharp  stone  or  knife  and  hung  up  to 
dry.  When  needed  they  are  split  into  long  strips  by  means  of  the 
bone  awl.  The  pieces  of  the  desired  width  and  thickness  throughout 
are  used  for  stitching;  the  others  form  the  foundation  of  the  coil, 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  425 

which  in  the  weaving  is  kept  of  uniform  thickness  by  adding  fresh 
material.  Foundations  are  also  in  narrow  strips  of  wood.  Mr.  Teit 
makes  the  important  assertion  that  the  stitches  of  the  preceding  coil 
are  intentionally  split  by  the  awl.  Examples  of  this  kind  of  work  are 
common  in  collections.  On  the  bottom  and  back  as  well  as  ends  of  the 
baskets  ornamental  strips  are  often  overlaid  or  decorated  by  a  proc 
ess  here  called  beading.  In  many  examples  strips  of  cedar  and  other- 
woods  are  used  as  foundations.  The  method  of  ornamentation  employed 
is  imbrication,  described  on  page  310,  the  material  for  the  overlaying 
being  a  glossy  yellow-white  grass. 

As  soon  as  enough  is  known  about  the  geographic  distribution  of 
this  imbricated  type  of  weaving  a  better  classification  can  be  made. 
The  following  characteristics  will  suffice  as  a  general  guide: 

1.  Foundation. — Either  a  bundle  of  splints,  somewhat  cylindrical  in 
form,  or  narrow  fiat  strips  of  wood  usually  laid  in  pairs. 

2.  Sewing. — All  done  in  splints  of  root;  in  some  baskets  the  stitch 
is  carefully  and  s3Tstematically  bifurcated  on   the  outside,  in  others 
whole. 

3.  Bottom. — Either  a  flat  spiral  circular  or  ellipticpl  in  outline,  as 
in   most   of   the  Washington  varieties  and   in  some  of   the  farthest 
removed  of  the  British  Columbia  specimens,  or  a  series  of  straight 
rows  of  sewing.     The  bottoms  of  many  of  the  baskets  of  this  last  type 
are  receding,  and  even  a  border  is  built  up  outside  of  the  structure  of 
the  basket.     (Compare  Plate  157  with  Plate  163.) 

-L  General  shape. — Either  conical,  rectangular,  pyramidal,  or 
fanciful. 

5.  Decoration. — Designs  covering  the  whole  surface;  designs  on  the 
upper  part  of  the  surface  only;  and  designs  around  the  middle,  leaving 
the  top  and  bottom  plain  or  separately  figured.  In  some  beading  is 
mixed  with  the  imbricated  ornament.  It  may  not  amount  to  tribal 
differences,  but  some  baskets  are  decorated  in  front  with  imbrications, 
and  plain  or  beaded  on  the  back  and  ends,  it  is  impossible  with  the 
knowledge  at  present  in  hand  to  make  a  perfect  ethnic  chart  of  this 
wonderfully  varied  type  of  workmanship. 

Plate  156  is  a  covered  basket  box  in  imbricated  coiled  work,  from 
Douglas  Harbor,  British  Columbia,  now  in  the  collection  of  Fred 
Harvey,  Albuquerque,  New  Mexico.  The  foundation  and  sewing  are 
of  cedar  or  spruce  root,  and  the  imbrications  are  in  squaw  grass  and 
cedar  bark.  The  noticeable  feature  in  this  specimen  is  the  coiled 
work.  In  order  to  diminish  the  amount  of  sewing,  the  basket  maker 
has  thought  of  the  expedient  used  by  the  Mescalero  Apache  Indians 
of  the  south,  and  seen  on  specimens  from  other  localities,  of  widening 
the  foundation  of  the  coil.  In  the  Douglas  Harbor  examples,  strips 
of  wood  take  the  place  of  two  or  more  stems  arranged  one  above 
another. 

Plate   15T  represents   Thompson    River   and    Eraser  River   coiled 


426 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 


baskets,  showing  both  imbrication  and  overlaying  with  grass.  The 
specimens  shown  in  this  plate  are  in  the  collection  of  Miss  A.  M.  Lang, 
The  Dalles,  Oregon.  They  should  be  examined  carefully  with  respect 
to  the  characteristics  of  foundation,  stitch,  shape,  design,  and  quality 
mentioned  above. 

Fig.  155  is  a  precious  old  coiled  and  imbricated  basket.  The  bot 
tom  is  made  up  of  fifteen  foundation  rods  laid  parallel.  Each  one  of 
these  is  overlaid  by  a  strip  of  bright  yellow  squaw  grass.  Thus  pre 
pared,  these  rods  are  sewed  together  by  coil  stitching,  which  are  split 
or  bifurcated,  and  some  trifurcated  in  the  operation.  Again,  while 
the  stitching  is  solid  on  the  inside,  those  in  sight  are  from  one-eighth 
to  one-fourth  of  an  inch  apart  on  the  outside,  showing  that  every 
other  stitch  is  under  the  straw.  On  the  outside  of  this  rectangular 


FIG.  155. 

COILED  AND  IMBRICATED   BASKET. 
Cat.  No.  60235,  U.S.N.M.     Collected  by  J.  J.  Maclean. 


bottom  the  regular  coiled  work  begins  and  the  body  is  built  up,  the 
stitches  all  being  concealed  by  what  in  this  treatise  is  called  imbricated 
ornament  or  knife  plaiting,  carefully  described  and  illustrated  else 
where.  In  this  example  the  ornamentation  is  in  squaw  grass,  cherry 
bark,  and  cedar  bark,  dyed  black.  (See  figs.  52-55.) 

The  foundation  of  the  coiled  work  is  not  a  single  rod,  but  a  bunch 
of  splints  made  from  the  cedar  root.  Catalogue  No.  00235  in  the 
U.  S.  National  Museum  was  procured  from  Sitka,  Alaska,  Indians  by 
J.  J.  McLean,  to  which  place  it  had  doubtless  drifted  in  trade  from 
the  Eraser  River  region.  Its  length  is  8£  inches  and  height  3f  inches. 

Mr.  Hill-Tout  reports  that  for  boiling  their  food  the  N'tlaka  pamuq 
tribe  (Salishan  family),  on  the  Eraser  and  the  Thompson  River,  always 
used  basket  kettles  made  like  their  other  basketry  from  the  split  roots 
of  the  cedar.  These  roots  are  sometimes  red  and  black,  and  very 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  427 

beautiful  patterns  are  made  from  the  three  different  colors.  The  red 
dye  was  obtained  from  the  bark  of  the  alder  tree,  and  the  dark  stain 
was  obtained  by  soaking  the  roots0'  in  black  slime  or  mud,  or  from  the 
root  of  a  fern  (Franz  Boas). 

Dr.  G.  M.  Dawson,  in  his  "  Notes  on  the  Shuswap  people  of  British 
Columbia,"  tells  us  that  these  baskets  were  made  from  roots  of  the 
spruce,  and  Dr.  Boas,  in  his  report  on  the  Shuswaps,  informs  us  that 
the  basketry  of  the  Shuswaps  and  N'tlaka  pamuq  always  used  the 
root  of  the  cedar.  As  the  N'tlaka  pamuq  were  preeminent  in  basket 
making1,  it  is  possible  that  the  information  gained  by  Mr.  Hill-Tout 
may  be  accepted  as  correct,  although  the  cedar  (Thuja)  is  not  abun 
dant  in  the  Thompson  River  country.6  So  skillfully  did  the  women 
make  these  baskets  that  they  would  hold  liquids  without  trouble.  In 
preparing  food  two  kettles  were  used,  one  containing  water  for  wash 
ing  off  any  dirt  that  might  adhere  to  the  heated  stones,  and  the  other 
for  holding  the  food.  In  boiling  salmon  for  eating,  the  lish  were  tied 
up  in  birch  bark  to  prevent  breaking  and  falling  to  pieces. 

The  Washington  or  southern  imbricated  ware  is  far  more  true  to 
the  old  type  than  the  northern,  as  examples  will  show.  It  may  be 
divided  roughly  between  Salishan  and  Shahaptian.  (See  Plate  158.) 

The  Klikitat  or  Shahaptian  basket  (Plate  158,  fig.  2)  is  thus  made: 
The  foundation  consists  of  the  roots  of  young  spruce  and  cedar  trees. 
The}7  are  macerated  and  split  or  torn  into  shreds  and  soaked  for  a  long 
time.  The  materials  for  the  ornamentation  are  thus  prepared.  Most 
of  it  is  of  squaw  grass  (Xerophyllum  tenax).  It  grows  on  the  east  side 
of  the  Cascade  Mountains  and  can  be  gathered  only  during  the  late 
summer,  when  the  snow  has  melted  and  the  grass  has  matured.  The 
broad  leaves  are  split  into  the  requisite  width  and  if  they  are  to  retain 
their  natural  color  are  soaked  in  water  only.  To  be  dyed  they  are 
soaked  in  mud  and  charcoal  for  black,  in  a  dye  from  willow  bark  for 
brown,  and  a  long  time  in  water  for  yellow.  In  some  cases  cedar  bast  is 
dyed  black  instead  of  the  grass,  but  it  is  not  so  durable,  or  willow  bark 
takes  the  place  of  the  grass,  but  the  surface  shrivels.  With  the  three 
elements  of  structure  around  her,  the  Klikitat  basket  maker  makes  up  a 
roll  of  root  splints  for  the  beginning  of  her  foundation,  which  she  wraps 
at  one  end  for  an  inch  with  sewing  splint.  Doubling  this  she  begins 
her  over  and  over  sewing,  splitting,  sometimes  with  exquisite  taste  and 
care,  the  wood  of  the  stitch  underneath.  The  ornamentation  covering 
more  or  less  the  surface  of  every  Klikitat  basket,  called  imbricated 
work,  is  laid  on  in  the  process  of  manufacture.  The  woman  (1)  catches 
the  end  of  a  strip  of  grass  or  bark  under  a  stitch,  (2)  bends  the  strip 
forward  to  cover  the  stitch,  (3)  bends  it  back  on  itself,  leaving  about 

«  According  to  Dr.  Boas  the  black  dye  was  obtained  from  the  fern  root.  It  is  pos 
sible  it  was  gotten  in  both  wrays. 

b  Report  of  the  British  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  1899,  p.  511. 


428  REPORT    OF   NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

one-eighth  of  an  inch  for  the  next  stitch  to  rest  on,  (-i)  makes  her 
stitch,  draws  it  home,  and  bends  the  grass  strip  over  and  covers  it. 
It  is  a  kind  of  knife  plaiting  held  down  by  coiled  sewing  and  is  an 
invention  of  this  region. a 

Plate  158,  fig.  1,  is  an  example  of  the  Salishan  or  older  type  on  the 
coast  of  Washington.  It  is  specimen  No.  2(>12,  U.  S.  National  Museum, 
collected  by  Capt.  Charles  Wilkes. 

The  imbricated  basketry  of  Washington  is  divided  by  Mrs.  Molson 
into  two  classes,  by  districts.  The  eastern  slope  of  the  Cascade  or 
Yakima  district  belongs  to  the  arid  plateau  of  eastern  Washingtori 
and  the  basket  technic  is  heavy,  staunch,  and  of  good  workmanship, 
but  it  shows  the  effect  of  climate.  But  the  western  or  Cowlitz  River 
district  produced  the  perfect  imbricated  basket,  with  more  coils  to 
the  inch,  more  stitches  in  the  same  space  and  also  more  beautiful 
designs. 

I  am  indebted  to  Mrs.  Harriet  K.  McArthur  for  copies  of  the  old 
records  relating  to  the  southern  imbricated  baskets.  The  most  abso- 
lutei}'  beautif ul  and  perfect  baskets  of  this  typo  were  made  on  Cowlitz 
and  Lewis  rivers  in  Washington.  These  places  are  but  a  short  dis 
tance  from  Portland,  over  in  Washington.  No  imbricated  baskets 
were  ever  made  south  of  the  Columbia,  the  linest  and  best  are  from 
west  of  the  Cascade  Mountains.  The  shaping  is  more  graceful,  being 
woven  much  finer,  and  the  designs  are  far  more  intricate.  They 
rarely  have  the  openings  around  the  top  for  lacing  strings.  Beautiful 
ones  come  from  the  Skokomish  Reservation  and  from  the  coast,  but 
they  may  have  reached  these  remote  places  through  the  medium  of 
trade. 

Immersion  in  water,  charcoal,  and  bark  dyes  is  practiced.  Cherry 
bark  is  employed  much  in  British  Columbia,  and  sometimes  by  the 
Klikitats  who  occasionally  put  in  willow  bark  which  shrinks  and 
leaves  an  ugly  stitch.  The  rare  ones  with  colors — not  the  fine  old 
brown,  yellow,  and  black,  but  old  rose  and  purple,  are  valuable  because 
they  are  rare.  The  old  rose  is  a  berry  stain  and  the  purple  is  from  a 
root;  but  they  will  never  rival  the  old  brown  in  beauty. 

The  typical  coiled  and  imbricated  baskets  from  west  Washington, 
therefore,  may  be  called  the  Cowlitz  type.  According  to  Dr.  Boas 
most  of  them  are  made  on  the  Cowlitz  River  and  north  to  Fraser 
River.  He  also  bears  witness  that  the  split  sewing  and  the  interlocking 
of  stitches  are  both  practiced.  The  Athapascans  seem  to  have  dwelt 
originally  in  this  area,  and  it  is  just  possible  that  they  carried  the 
coiling  everywhere. 

The  so-called  Klikitat  baskets  are  now  found  on  the  Yakima  Reser 
vation,  in  Klikitat  and  Cowlitz  counties,  along  the  Columbia  River,  in 
the  vicinity  of  The  Dalles. 

«Mr«.  W.  M.  Molson,  Basketry  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  Portland,  Oregon,  1K9<>. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  429 

Plate  159  represents  old  Klikitat  baskets,  coiled  and  little  imbri 
cated,  in  the  collection  of  Miss  Anne  M.  Lang,  The  Dalles,  Oregon. 
At  once  the  difference  will  be  seen  between  these  conical  and  quite 
aboriginal  forms  and  those  of  rectangular  shapes  farther  north  in  the 
Fraser  and  Thompson  River  countries.  The  method  of  ornamenta 
tion  is  the  same,  but  the  borders  are  finished  off  with  considerable 
skill  and  taste  in  braided  work.  In  the  National  Museum  are  photo 
graphs  of  excellent  old  pieces  in  the  Harvey  collection  in  Albuquerque. 
For  the  sake  of  comparison,  Plate  160  is  inserted  to  show  later  and 
more  highly  embellished  forms. 

The  baskets  made  in  imitation  of  a  trunk  are  used  for  a  similar  pur 
pose  and  not  for  berries.  The  Hudson  Bay  and  other  people  brought 
camphor  trunks  from  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  taken  there  from  China. 
The  work  is  wonderfully  good  in  this  as  well  as  in  others.  The  inter 
esting  part  is  that  the  weavers  before  this  time  had  made  baskets  with 
rounded  bottoms,  and  began,  of  course,  with  the  coil  in  the  center; 
but  the  oblong  shape  with  corners  was  another  matter,  so  a  thin  board 
was  covered  with  cloth  to  form  the  bottom,  and  on  the  edge  of  this 
the  bone  awl  was  used  to  make  perforations  to  fasten  the  first  row  on 
this  bottom.  Later  baskets  had  an  ingeniously  woven  bottom  over  a 
number  of  narrow  slats,  and  the  patient  weaver  subsequently  mastered 
an  oblong  coil. 

From  a  report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  Governor 
Isaac  L.  Stevens,  185-1,  the  following  statements  are  taken  in  order  to 
comprehend  the  migrations  of  the  tribe  after  whom  imbricated  ware 
has  been  popularly  named: 

The  tribes  of  the  Klikitat  and  Yakima  inhabit  properly  the  valley  lying  between 
Mounts  St.  Helena  and  Adams,  but  they  have  spread  over  the  districts  belonging  to 
other  tribes  and  a  band  of  them  is  now  located  as  far  south  as  Umpqua. 

The  Klikitats  and  Yakimas  in  all  essential  peculiarities  of  character  are  identical 
and  their  intercourse  is  constant,  but  the  former,  though  a  mountain  tribe,  are  more 
unsettled  in  their  habits  than  their  brethren.  The  fact  is  probably  due  in  the  first 
place  to  their  having  been  driven  from  their  homes  many  years  ago  by  the  Cayuses, 
with  whom  they  were  at  war.  They  then  became  acquainted  with  other  parts  of  the 
country,  as  well  as  with  the  advantages  derived  from  trade.  It  was  not,  however, 
until  about  1839  that  they  crossed  the  Columbia,  when  they  overran  the  Willamette 
Valley,  attracted  by  the  game  with  which  it  abounded  and  which  they  destroyed  in 
defiance  of  the  weak  and  indolent  Callapooyas.  They  still  boast  that  they  taught  tho 
latter  tribe  to  ride  and  hunt.  They  manifest  a  peculiar  aptitude  for  trading. 

Under  the  term  Walla  Walla  (p.  2^3)  are  embraced  a  number  of 
bands,  living  usually  on  the  south  side  of  the  Columbia  and  on  the 
Snake  River,  to  a  little  east  of  the  Palouse. 

The  Tai-tin-a-pam,  a  band  of  the  Klikitats  already  mentioned,  liv 
ing  near  the  head  of  the  Cowlitz,  were  called  by  their  eastern  brethren 
wild  or  wood  Indian. 


430  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 

From  the  report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1858 
(p.  225),  Puget  Sound  Agency,  T.  Simmon,  agent,  is  quoted: 

There  is  a  portion  of  the  Indians  of  my  district  whose  homes  are  high  up  on  the 
river,  principally  on  the  Nisqually,  Puyallup,  and  Snoqualmie.  They  are  nearly 
related  to  the  Yakimas  and  Klikitats  by  blood,  and  are  sometimes  called  Klikitats. 

R.  S.  Landsdale,  agent,  White  Salmon  Agency  (p.  275),  writes: 

Many  of  the  Klikitats  were  removed  during  the  late  war  from  their  former  homes, 
west  of  the  Cascade  Mountains,  to  this  agency. 

The  home  of  the  Klikitat  Indians,  says  Mrs.  Molson,^  was  along  the 
waters  of  the  Columbia  and  its  tributaries,  from  the  Cascade  Mountains 
on  the  west  to  the  Bitter  Root  Range  on  the  east,  and  from  -16  degrees 
4A  minutes  north,  to  what  is  now  eastern  Washington  and  northern 
Idaho.  They  were  not  only  rovers  and  marauders,  but  they  went  on 
annual  expeditions  to  trade,  carrying  dried  buffalo  meat  and  robes, 
but  also  Avild  hemp,  dried  and  twisted,  to  exchange  for  dried  salmon 
and  dentalia.  They  held  the  gateway  between  the  East  and  the  West, 
for  the  river  was  the  only  route  of  communication.  South  of  the 
Columbia,  along  the  ocean,  is  an  old  path  known  as  the  u  Klikitat 
trail."  They  journeyed  south  by  this  route  and  returned  north  by 
the  Klamath  trail  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Cascades.  There  are  no 
indications  of  their  being  basket  makers.  Their  kindred,  still  in  the 
old  home,  make  no  imbricated  ware. 

Plate  161  is  a  typical  coiled  and  imbricated  berry  basket  of  the  Kli 
kitat  Indians,  from  the  collection  of  Mrs.  R.  S.  Shackelford,  from  whom 
the  following  information  is  received:  The  inside  walls,  both  founda 
tion  and  sewing,  are  from  splints  of  the  root  of  the  giant  cedar 
(Thuja  plicata),  collected  on  the  sides  of  Mount  Hood.  The  orna 
mentation  is  the  imbricated  work  described  in  detail  on  page  427,  the 
materials  being  of  the  white  Tooksi  or  squaw  grass.  Cedar  and  cherry 
bark  are  also  used,  and  for  color  the  yellow  dye  is  procured  from 
the  Oregon  grape  (Berberis  nervosa),  the  brown  dye  from  alder  bark, 
and  the  black  from  acorns  soaked  in  mud.  The  meaning  of  the 
artistic  terraced  design  is  not  known.  Six  months  were  consumed  in 
making  it.  Catalogue  No.  207756,  U.  S.  National  Museum.  The 
following  story  was  gathered  from  a  basket  maker  by  Mrs.  Shackelford: 

The  Spirit  told  the  first  weaver  to  make  a  basket  (tooksi).  So  she  repaired  to  the 
forest  and  pondered  over  her  mission.  Gathering  the  plant  yi,  squaw  grass,  elk 
grass,  pine  grass,  and  the  red  cedar  roots,  noo  wi  ash  ( TIntja  plicata},  she  began  to 
weave,  and  after  many  toilsome  days  a  basket  was  produced.  She  carried  it  to  the 
lake  and  dipped  it  full  of  water,  but  it  leaked,  and  the  Spirit  said  to  her:  "It  will 
not  do.  Weave  again  a  tight  basket  with  a  pattern  on  it."  She  sat  by  the  water 
side,  and  as  she  looked  into  the  clear  depths  of  the  lake  the  pattern  (chato  timus) 
was  revealed  to  her  in  the  refracted  lines,  and  with  new  courage  she  repaired  to  the 
depths  of  the  forest  and  worked  until  she  wrought  a  basket  on  which  the  ripples  of 

«  Basketry  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  Portland,  Oregon,  1896. 


ABOEIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  431 

the  lake  were  shown.  Other  women  have  learned  the  pattern  all  down  the  ages,  but 
only  very  few  are  now  left  who  can  weave  a  faultless  basket  and  a  perfect  imitation 
of  chato  timus. 

The  locality  where  the  story  was  learned  is  Lumrni  Island,  Belling- 
ham  Bay,  Washington.  The  pattern  referred  to  is  similar  to  that 
shown  in  fig.  289,  of  the  Sixth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of 
Ethnology. 

Fig.  156  represents  a  line  old  piece  of  Yakiina  coiled  and  imbricated 
basket,  Catalogue  No.  23872  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  collected 
by  James  H.  Wilbur.  The  foundation  and  sewing  are  in  split  root, 
probably  cedar.  The  sewing  is  entirely  overlaid  and  concealed  by 
strips  of  squaw  grass  laid  on  in  the  manner  explained  on  page  4:27. 
The  border  is  especially  interesting,  connected  structurally  with 


FIG.  156. 

IMBRICATED  BASKET. 

Yakima  Indians,  Washington. 

After  W.  H.  Holmes. 


examples  from  California  and  Peru  (See  Plate  24:8).  It  is  in  open 
coiled  work,  the  foundation  being  wrapped,  bent  in  a  regular  sinuous 
pattern  and  sewed  down  here  and  there.  The  design,  according  to 
Mrs.  Judge  Burke,  represents  a  flock  of  geese  migrating.  Its  height 
is  7i  inches.  (See  fig.  159  and  Plate  35). 

Fig.  157  is  an  old  example  of  imbricated  basketry  from  Washington, 
collected  by  Dr.  J.  L.  Fox,  U.  S.  Navy,  of  the  Wilkes  Exploring 
Expedition,  Catalogue  No.  2137.  Such  work  is  now  generally  called 
Klikitat,  and  the  Indians  of  that  stock  are  expert  in  the  use  of  it;  but 
the  exploring  expedition  did  not  come  in  contact  with  tribes  so  far  in 
the  interior.  The  Salish  Indians  on  Puget  Sound  make  the  same  type  of 
work,  and  it  is  known  that  the  very  best  come  from  the  Cowlitz  coun 
try,  so  that  this  is  probably  a  very  old  piece  of  Cowlitz  basketry  in 


432  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 

this  kind  of  weaving.  The  whole  surface  of  it  is  covered  with  the 
imbrication  or  a  knife  plaiting,  explained  on  p.  427,  and  illustrated  in 
figs.  52-54. 

Catalogue  No.  2614,  U.  S.  National  Museum,  shown  in  Plate  45,  is 
an  imbricated  basket  made  by  an  Indian  of  Salishan  family,  in  Wash 
ington.  It  is  one  of  the  oldest  specimens  in  the  National  Museum, 
having  been  brought  home  by  Captain  Charles  Wilkes  more  than  sixty 
years  ago.  The  material  of  the  foundation  and  sewing  is  of  cedar 
root.  The  surface  is  covered  entirely  with  imbricated  ornamentation, 
the  body  color  being  produced  by  strips  of  squaw  grass.  The  figures 
are  in  cedar  bark  in  natural  color  and  dyed  black  by  means  of  charcoal 
and  mud.  The  golden  color  in  the  straw  filaments  is  produced  bv 
longer  immersion  in  water.  The  most  interesting  feature  in  this 
basket  is  the  bottom,  which  is  formed  upon  a  strip  of  wood  three- 
fourths  of  an  inch  Avide  and  6 
inches  in  length.  It  is  very  closely 
wrapped  or  served  with  a  splint  of 
root.  Upon  the  margin  of  this 
the  coiled  work  begins,  one  round 
being  made  in  plain  stitches.  Af 
terwards  the  patterns  are  attached 
immediately  to  this  and  extend  out 
ward  to  a  black  line  on  the  margin, 
the  body  of  the  basket  being  com 
pletely  covered  with  other  figures, 
the  ends  different  from  the  sides. 

FIG.  157.  The  border  is  neatly  finished  off  in 

IMBRICATED  BASKET.  false  braid.    There  are  about  eight 

rows  of    coiled  work    and    from 

Collet-ted  by  Dr.  J.  L.  Vox,  U.  S.  Navy. 

twelve  to  sixteen  stitches  to  the 

inch.  On  the  outside  the  stitches  are  regularly  split  or  furcated. 
Length,  8  inches;  depth,  4i  inches. 

Fig.  158  represents  a  specimen  of  twilled  work  b}^  the  Clallam 
Indians  and  should  be  compared  with  Nutka  example,  Plate  152.  It 
is  made  of  flat  splints  of  white  wood,  resembling  birch.  The  bottom 
was  woven  first  and  all  of  the  splints  by  being  bent  upward  become 
the  warp  of  the  sides.  Twilled  effect  is  produced  by  passing  each 
weft  splint  over  two  and  under  two  warp  splints.  The  fastening  off 
of  the  upper  border  is  done  by  bending  dow^i  the  warp  splints  and 
holding  them  in  place  by  a  whipping  of  the  same  material.  The 
scallop  on  the  upper  border  is  formed  by  looping  the  middle  of  two 
splints  under  the  rim,  twisting  both  pairs  of  ends  into  a  twine,  passing 
one  twine  through  the  other,  and  doubling  down  to  repeat  the  process 
until  the  whole  is  finished. 

Illustrations  of  this  method  of  making  twilled  work  are  shown  in 


ABOKIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETKY. 


433 


figs.  94-96,  but,  as  will  be  seen,  innumerable  pleasing-  effects  are  pro 
duced  by  varying  the  color,  the  number,  the  width,  and  the  direction 
of  the  splints  that  are  overlapped  in  the  weaving.  Catalogue  No. 
23509,  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  was  procured  in  Washington 
by  James  G.  Swan.  It  is  15  inches  iruheight. 

Myron  Eells,  long  a  resident  among  the  Sound  tribes  of  Salish,  has 
collected  for  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  at  different  times  many  speci 
mens  of  their  basketry.  It  was  he  that  first  noticed  the  great  diver 
sity  that  exists  in  such  small  tribes  as  the  Twana,  or  Towanhoosh. 


FIG.  158. 

TWILLED  BASKET  WORK. 

Clallam  Indians,  Washington. 

Collected  by  J.  G.  Swan. 

They  use  in  their  work  a  knife  for  splitting  material,  a  common  awl, 
formerly  of  bone,  in  sewing  their  coiled  ware.  He  has  seen  the 
woman  using  a  small  bone  for  pressing  home  her  weft.  This  is  rare, 
for  the  fingers  are  usually  employed  for  this  purpose. 

Fig.  159  is  a  water-tight  basket  for  cooking,  marked  Clallam.  The 
foundation  is  the  single  flat  strip  type.  Attention  is  called  to  the 
ornamental  effect  produced  in  this  work  by  the  splitting  of  the  under 
stitch  by  the  one  above  it.  The  noteworthy  feature  of  this  type  of 
basket,  however,  is  in  the  occasional  overlaying  of  a  filament  of  squaw 
NAT  MUS  1902 28 


434 


EEPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 


grass  or  other  material,  which  seems  to  be  the  tirst  step  toward  imbri 
cation.  The  grass  lies  over  two  stitches  and  is  caught  under  the  next 
stitch,  passing  under  and  over  as  in  u  beading."  In  other  examples 
the  straw  is  covered  and  revealed  in  the  alternate  stitches.  It  can  be 
seen  that  a  great  variety  of  effects  is  possible  in  this  manipulation. 

A  square  inch  from  the  surface  of  this  specimen  enlarged  (tig.  160) 
will  show  more  clearly  what  has  been  hitherto  described — the  inter 
locking  stitches,  the  furcation  of  the  stitches,  and  the  overlaying  with 
ornamental  iilaments. 

Catalogue  No.  23512,  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  was  procured 
in  Washington  by  James  G.  Swan. 


FK;.  159. 

WATER-TIGHT  BASKET. 

Clallam  Indians,  Washington. 
Collected  by  J.  G.  Swan. 

Charles  C.  Willoughby,  who  was  agent  among  the  Quinaielt  or 
Quinault  Indians  in  northwestern  Washington,  makes  the  following 
report  of  their  basketry: 

They  have  the  cedar  bark  for  the  foundation  of  basketry  and  strips 
of  the  pine  root  for  rigid  work,  hemp,  rushes,  and  grass  for  the  weft 
and  ornamentation.  The  grass  used  in  strengthening  the  borders  of 
mats,  rain  cloaks,  etc.,  grows  on  flat  places.  It  is  prepared  like  flax 
by  soaking  in  water  until  the  outer  portion  decays,  when  it  is  beaten 
with  sticks  until  only  the  liber  remains.  The  yellow  fiber  of  squaw 
grass  used  by  Indians  for  the  outside  of  baskets  is  a  great  source  of 
traffic,  as  it  is  only  found  in  this  locality.  The  basket  grass  is 
gathered  carefully,  one  blade  at  a  time,  to  secure  that  part  of  the 
stalk  that  reaches  about  0  inches  under  -the  ground  before  it  meets 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  435 

the  root.  To  prepare  the  grass  for  drying  it  is  woven  together 
at  the  ends  with  libers  of  cedar  bark.  It  is  then  spread  upon  the 
ground  or  upon  roofs  in  the  sun.  When  to  be  used  it  is  moistened 
with  water  and  split  with  two  small  knife  blades,  set  in  a  stick  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  make  the  strips  of  the  same  width,  the  smaller 
portion  being  thrown  away.  The  grass  is  kept  moist  with  water 
while  being  made  into  baskets.  The  colored  grasses  are  prepared  by 
using  aniline  dyes.  They  were  formerly  colored  by  steeping  the 
roots  of  plants  that  }Tielded  a  }Tellow  coloring.  A  red  dye  was  made 
from  the  bark  of  alder,  and  a  paint  was  made  of  blue  clay.  a 

Plate  162  shows  a  number  of  Quinaielt  baskets  in  twined  and  over 
laid  weave  in  the  collection  of  Miss  Anne  M.  Lang. 

Plate  163,  top  figure,  is  a  wallet  made  from  grass  stems  by  the 
Quinaielt  Indians.  It  is  worthy  of  especial  study,  because  the  warp 
is  horizontal  and  the  weft  vertical. 
Openwork  figures  are  produced  on 
the  surface  in  a  series  of  chevroned 
patterns  by  an  ingenious  but  very 
simple  process.  At  the  point  where 
the  open  effect  is  to  be  produced 
the  two  strands  constituting  the 
twine  do  not  make  a  half  turn,  but 
pass  above  and  below  the  warp,  as 
in  ordinary  plain  weaving,  across 
one  warp  strand.  In  the  next 
round  the  adjoining  pair  are  simi 
larly  treated,  and  thus  figures  are 
produced.  At  the  upper  and  lower 

*         ,        .  FIG.  160. 

margin     two    rows     or     horizontal 


DETAIL   OF  FIG.  159. 


twined  weaving  fasten  off  the  ends, 
which  are  braided  down.  On  the  sides  the  warp  strands  are  sewed 
into  and  concealed  in  a  coarse  braid  of  rushes.  Width,  18^  inches; 
height,  14  inches. 

Catalogue  No.  151452,  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  was  collected 
in  Washington  by  Dr.  Franz  Boas. 

Plate  163,  bottom  figure,  is  a  Thompson  River  basket  in  the  collec 
tion  of  J.  W.  Benham.  It  is  introduced  here  for  the  purpose  of  show 
ing  how  the  Indian  woman's  mind  struggled  with  the  problem  of 
starting  the  bottom  of  a  rectangular  coiled  basket.  It  has  been  said 
that  the  Thompson  River  Indians  do  not  understand  this  process,  but 
many  old  Thompsons  have  coiled  bottoms  and  this  technic  is  older 
than  the  other.  The  work  begins  I)}7  wrapping  a  foundation  of  splints 
with  the  split  root  of  spruce  or  cedar  for  6  or  more  inches.  This  is 

a  Smithsonian  Report,  1886,  Pt.  1,  pp.  267-282. 


436  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 

then  doubled  upon  itself  and  the  sewing  begins  and  proceeds  back 
ward  and  forward,  as  in  plowing,  until  fifteen  rows  are  made;  the 
coiling  then  actually  begins,  the  sewing  extending  not  only  along  the 
sides  but  across  the  ends,  making  a  parallelogram,  which  is  extended 
for  ten  rows  farther  outward,  at  which  place  the  additional  ornament 
begins.  So  far  it  is  plain  coiled  work  with  split  stitches;  afterwards 
it  becomes  a  mixture  of  plain  coiled  work  with  upright  bands  of 
imbrication.  Its  height  is  13  inches,  and  its  width  at  bottom  is  9-J 
inches. 

The  twined  baskets  of  Washington,  with  little  animals  around  the 
margin,  belong  to  the  Skokomish  and  other  Salishan  tribes  about 
Puget  Sound.  When  the  tails  turn  up  they  are  dogs  or  wolves;  when 
they  turn  down  they  are  horses.  Especial  attention  has  been  called 
to  the  varied  and  tasteful  effects  produced  by  the  use  of  the  rectangu 
lar  element. 

Plate  164  represents  two  carrying  wallets  of  the  Skokomish  Indians 
living  in  Washington.  The  examples  shown  are  done  in  the  style  of 
weaving  called  here  ''wrapped  twine"  (figs.  21  and  22). 

Plate  165  shows  specimens  of  carrjdng  baskets  made  by  Salish  tribes 
in  Washington;  the  one  in  the  center  is  Tillamuk,  Catalogue  No. 
151149  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  collected  by  Dr.  Franz  Boas. 
The  others,  Nos.  2709  and  23511,  are  very  old  specimens  in  the 
National  Museum  collection  and  are  accredited  to  the  Clallams.  The 
upper  one  on  the  plate  is  credited  to  the  Wilkes  Exploring  Expedi 
tion,  secured  more  than  sixty  years  ago.  All  of  these  are  in  plain, 
twined  weaA7ing  with  splint  of  root,  probably  spruce,  made  browTner 
by  soaking  in  mud.  The  ornamentation  is  false  embroidery  in  squaw 
grass.  The  three  methods  of  forming  the  border  are  noteworthy.  In 
the  upper  specimen  stout  cable  is  formed  by  "sewing"  a  small  bundle 
of  root  splints  with  the  same  material.  This  is  sewed  here  and  there 
to  the  upper  margin  of  the  wallet.  The  other  figures  show  the  margin 
finished  by  braiding  down;  the  loops  of  root  were  twisted  in  subse 
quently.  The  animals  on  the  margin  are  horses. 

The  specimen,  Catalogue  No.  23511,  which  is  the  lower  one  on  the 
plate,  was  collected  in  Washington  by  James  G.  Swan. 

Plate  166,  upper  figure,  is  an  open  twined  wallet  of  the  Tillamuk 
Indians,  Salishan  family,  the  remnant  of  which  is  living  at  Grande 
Ronde  Agency,  Oregon.  The  bottom  of  this  basket  is  rather  ingenious. 
The  warp  splints  of  the  sides  pass  across  the  bottom  also  and  are  held 
together  there  by  courses  of  twined  weaving.  At  the  edges  of  the  end 
portions  of  the  bottom  the  splints  of  the  weft  or  twined  work  become 
the  warp  for  the  body.  At  the  upper  border  two  rows  of  squaw  grass 
are  beaded  in.  The  braided  border  around  the  top  is  formed  by  the 
ends  of  the  warp  splints  plaited  together  in  a  double  row,  additional 
material  being  used  if  necessary. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  437 

The  lower  figure  is  an  open  wallet  of  the  Chinook  Indians,  Chinookan 
family,  occupying  formerly  both  sides  of  the  Columbia  River  from 
the  mouth  to  The  Dalles,  a  distance  of  200  miles.  According  to  Lewis 
and  Clark  most  of  their  villages  were  on  the  northern  bank.  To  this 
family  also  belong  the  Clatsops  and  Wascos,  to  be  mentioned  later. 
The  wallet  illustrated  in  the  plate  is  made  of  root  in  twined  weaving 
with  crossed  warp.  The  bottom  or  foundation  is  a  rectangular  struc 
ture,  about  4  inches  square,  made  of  double  splints  of  root,  securely 
lashed  together  backward  and  forward.  From  this  central  portion  the 
splints  spread  out  and  the  .twined  weaving  begins.  Additional  warp 
elements  are  added  from  time  to  time  as  the  structure  widens.  A 
coarse  form  of  ornamentation  is  produced  by  overlaying  some  of  the 
warp  elements  with  squaw  grass.  The  fastening  off  of  the  upper  border 
is  peculiar  and  on  the  outside  imitates  precisely  a  three-ply  braid,  but 
on  the  inside  the  structure  is  at  once  revealed.  •  A  strip  of  root  is  laid 
along  the  top  of  the  warp  elements  and  these  are  brought  over  in 
buttonhole  stitch  and  tucked  behind  the  strip,  then  cut  off,  making  a 
a  very  rough  appearance.  It  will  be  noticed  that  in  the  weaving  of 
this  wallet  the  half  turns  of  the  twine  do  not  go  around  the  crossings 
of  the  warp  elements,  but  just  below  the  crossings,  so  as  to  include 
each  warp  separately.  On  the  outside  of  the  warp  splints  here  and 
there  a  strip  of  grass  is  regularly  overlaid. 

Catalogue  Nos.  151447  and  151448  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum 
were  collected  by  Dr.  Franz  Boas. 

The  Nez  Perce  Indians  of  the  Shahaptiari  family,  prior  to  the  advent 
of  the  whites  on  the  Pacific  coast,  made  heavy  and  beautiful  blankets 
of  the  wool  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  sheep  and  of  the  hair  of  animals 
killed  in  the  chase,  dyed  in  different  colors.  The  patterns  are  all 
geometric,  and  are,  in  fact,  woven  mosaics,  each  figure  being  inserted 
separately  by  twisting  two  woof  threads  backward  and  forward  around 
the  warp  strands.  Scarcely  ever  does  the  twine  extend  in  stripes  all 
the  way  across  the  blanket  in  a  direct  line. 

The  same  Indians  at  present  weave  bags  from  the  bast  of  the  Indian 
hemp  (Apocynum  canndbinum)  and  from  grass  stems  shredded.  The 
figures  are  produced  by  overlaying  the  regular  warp  strands  with 
corn  husks  or  colored  grass  in  false  embroidery.  In  some  examples 
(see  fig.  161)  the  entire  surface  is  covered  with  geometric  figures;  in 
others  they  are  only  partially  covered.  The  Nez  Perce  are  in  the 
same  family  as  the  Klikitat  and  Yakirna,  but  they  make  no  imbricated 
baskets. 

Fig.  161  is  a  twined  wallet  of  the  Nez  Perces.  The  body  weaving, 
both  warp  and  weft,  is  of  mdian  hemp.  In  the  process  of  manufac 
ture  a  sufficient  number  of  "warp  strands  were  joined  together  in  the 
middle  by  a  row  of  twined  weaving  and  probably  suspended,  the  ends 
hanging  down.  The  weaver  filled  this  warp  with  the  ordinary  twisted 


438 


EEPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 


work,  proceeding-  from  the  bottom  to  the  border.  The  ornamenta 
tion,  in  corn  husk  or  other  weak  material,  in  the  natural  color  or  dyed, 
is  laid  on  externally  by  what  is  here  called  false  embroidery.  The 
process  was  fully  described  and  illustrated  in  speaking  of  Tlinkit  weav 
ing  (rig.  131),  p.  ±10).  This  specimen  should  be  compared  with  the 
making  of  soft  wallets  among  the  Fraser  River  tribes,  illustrated  in 
Teit's  monograph,  where  the  corn  husk,  instead  of  being  wrapped 
merely  around  the  outer  element  of  the  twine,  passes  around  both 

strands  and  the  figure  ap 
pears  on  the  inside  of  the 
receptacle,  which  is  not  true 
of  the  Nez  Perce  example. 
Fig.  162  will  show  a  square 
inch  of  this  wallet,  the  espe 
cial  feature  of  which  is  that 
while  the  rows  of  plain  twin 
ing  seem  to  be  vertical  in 
the  false  embroidery,  the}^ 
are  inclined  to  the  right. 

Thi's  specimen,  Catalogue 
No.  9026  in  the  U.  8.  National 
Museum,  was  collected  in 
Idaho  by  Dr.  Storrer. 

Plate  167  is  an  interesting 
collection  of  women's  hats. 
Figs.  1  and  2  are  Modoc 
twined  baskets  from  the  Ben 
jamin  collection,  Catalogue 
Nos.  20-1258  and  201259; 
height,  5f  inches.  The  foun 
dation  is  of  rush.  The  weav 
ing  is  in  the  same  material, 
the  designs  being  formed  by 
regular  overlaying  in  step 
patterns,  formed  by  piling 
rhomboidal  figures  upon  one 
another.  Strips  of  bird  quill  are  introduced  into  these  patterns, 
having  been  dyed  a  bright  yellow,  which  gives  life  to  the  figures.  It 
may  be  repeated  that  both  of  these  specimens  are  in  plain -twined 
weaving  overlaid.  All  the  other  figures  on  the  plate  are  in  wrapped- 
twined  weaving,  as  among  the  Makahs  and  other  tribes  of  the  Fraser- 
Columbia  region. 

Figs.  3  and  -1  are  women's  hats  of  the  Nez  Perce  and  Walla- Walla 
Indians,  Shahaptian  family,  Washington,  Catalogue  Nos.  23857  and 
129680.  The  foundation  is  of  hemp.  The  'weft  consists  of  strands 
of  hemp  on  the  inside  wrapped  around  with  a  filament  of  squaw  grass. 


FIG.  161. 

TWINED  WALLET. 

Nez  Perec'1  Indians,  Idaho. 

Collected  by  (Jeor^e  Ainslee.    Museum  Textile  8025, 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


439 


The  process  of  this  weaving  is  explained  in  figs.  21  and  22.  Cata 
logue  No.  23857,  collected  by  3.  B.  Monteith,  height  5  inches;  129680, 
collected  by  Mrs.  Anna  McBean,  height  5|  inches. 

Fig.  5,  Catalogue  No.  9040,  U.  S.  National  Museum,  is  a  woman's  hat, 
called  a  wedding  hat,  and  assigned  to  the  Cascade  Indians.  It  is  doubt 
less  Shahaptian.  In  every  respect  it  is  made  like  the  Nez  Perce  exam 
ples  described,  being  in  wrapped-twined  weaving  similar  to  that  of  the 
Makah  Indians.  Height,  6i  inches ;  collected  by  Dr.  James  F.  Ghiselin. 

Figs.  6  and  7  are  women's  hats  of  the  Nez  Perce  Indians,  Shahaptian 
family,  collected  by  F.  W.  Clark,  5  inches  in  height,  and  No.  23587, 
5  inches  in  height,  collected  by  J.  B.  Monteith. 

The  Cayuse  (Waiilatpuan)  and  Umatilla  (Shahaptian)  make  soft 
baskets  in  twined  weaving.  They  are  horse  Indians  and  use  their 
wallets  for  saddle  bags.  The  material  is  rushes,  wild  hemp,  corn 
husks,  and  worsted.  The  bottoms  and  undecorated  portions  are  plain- 
twined  work.  In  the  figured  parts  the 
husks,  split  into  narrow  strips,  are  admin 
istered  in  four  ways — by  overlaying,  not 
showing  on  the  inside;  by  overlaying  and 
twining  so  as  to  show  on  the  inside;  by 
false  embroidery,  wrapped  about  the  weft 
twine  elements  on  the  outside,  and  by 
frapping  the  twined  weft  as  in  the 
Thompson  River  work  (Mrs.  McArthur). 

The  soft  wallets  illustrated  in  Plate  168, 
often  called  "'Sally  bags,"  were  made 
by  Wasco  Indians,  who  belong  to  the 
Chinookan  family.  At  present  they  are  on  the  Warm  Springs  Reser 
vation  in  Oregon,  and  the  Yakima  Reservation  in  Washington.  The 
wallet  in  the  middle  of  the  plate  No.  9041  was  presented  to  the  U.  S. 
National  Museum  by  Dr.  James  T.  Ghiselin  in  1869;  the  others  were 
collected  by  Mrs.  R.  S,  Shackelford  and  Miss  E.  T.  Houtz.  They  are 
all  made  in  plain  twined  weaving  over  warp  of  rushes,  the  patterns 
being  effected  by  overlaying  the  twine  of  hemp  with  strips  of  fiber 
that  in  structure  resemble  corn  husks.  On  the  newer  specimens  the 
designs  are  clearly  shown,  representing  man  (tillacum),  elk  (mo witch), 
sturgeon  (pish),  duck  (culla-culla).  By  observing  the  men's  faces  in 
the  newer  specimens,  it  will  be  easy  to  detect  the  idealized  faces  on 
the  fine,  old  wallet  in  the  middle. 

Prof.  O.  M.  Dalton  figures  in  "Man"  (London),  I,  note  17,  an  old 
Wasco  basket  wallet  with  the  image  of  a  man  in  knee  breeches  on  the 
surface.  In  the  National  Museum  are  a  number  of  new  wallets  bear 
ing  this  same  figure,  but  the  Dalton  specimens  show  that  it  has  been 
a  motive  in  Wasco  weaving  for  a  long  period. 

Plate  169  represents  twined  wallets  of  the  Wasco  Indians,  Oregon,  in 
the  Fred  Harvey  collection.  The  foundations  are  in  native  hemp 


FIG.  162. 

DETAIL  OF  FIG.  161. 


440  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

in  plain-twined  weaving.     On  the  body  of  the  wallets  birds,  beasts,  and 
men  are  wrought  in  grass  or  husks  of  corn  in  corners. 

Clatsops  make  flat  mats  and  wallets  of  cat-tail  rush.  The  latter, 
with  strap  of  grass  and  woolen  to  wear  across  the  shoulders,  are  excel 
lent  for  carrying  fish.  They  also  construct  a  sack  in  open-twined  work 
in  roots.  The  fine-twined  small  baskets  in  three  colors  are  equal  to  any 
in  Oregon  (Mrs.  Me  Arthur). 

THE  CALIFORNIA-OREGON  REGION 

The  human  hand  is  so  beautifully  formed,  it  has  so  fine  a  sensibility,  that  sensibility  governs  its 
motions  so  correctly,  every  effort  of  the  will  is  answered  so  instantly,  as  if  the  hand  were  the  seat 
of  that  will.— Sir  CHARLES  BELL. 

The  California-Oregon  basketry  region  has  only  one  definite  bound 
ary,  the  hard  coast  of  the  Pacific;  on  other  sides  there  is  no  sharp 
ethnic  limit.  North,  east,  and  south,  it  is  full  of  turnstiles  that 
move  in  one  direction  only.  Tribes  from  far  away  pushed  through 
them  into  this  region,  but  if  they  had  desired  to  turn  their  backs  on 
abundant  game,  fish,  and  vegetal  foods,  they  would  have  been  pre 
vented  by  the  column  in  the  rear. 

The  ancient  basket  makers  of  this  area  knew  nearly  every  type  and 
technical  process  of  the  art,  both  in  weaving  and  coiling.  The}r  added 
at  least  one  new  technical  process,  the  tee  weave.  In  ornamentation, 
imbrication  is  wanting  as  well  as  false  embroidery,  but  there  is  quite 
enough  else  to  make  up  the  deficiency.  Within  the  California-Oregon 
area  there  are  subareas,  and  the  following  list  of  linguistic  families 
will  help  to  unravel  the  tangle: 

NORTHERN   GROUP 

Athapascan  family:  Hupa,  lower  Trinity  River  and  Wailaki,  western  slopes  of  the 
Shasta  Mountains. 

Chimarikan  family:  Trinity  River. 

Copehan  family:  Wintun  under  many  names,  western  drainage  Sacramento  River. 

Kalapooian  family:  The  Willamette  Plains,  western  Oregon. 

Kulanapan  family:  Porno,  under  many  names,  in  Mendocino  and  Lake  counties. 

Kusan  family:  Coos  River  and  Bay,  western  Oregon. 

Lutuamian  family:  Klamath  and  Modoc,  Upper  Klamath  River  or  Klamath  Lake. 

Palaihnihan  family:  Pit  Rivers;  on  Pit  River  to  eastern  boundary  of  the  State. 

Pujunan  family:  Concow  (Konkau),  Maidu,  Nockum  (Nakum),  western  drainage 
of  the  Sacramento  River,  south  of  Palaihnihan. 

Quoratean  family:  Ehnek,  Karok,  middle  Klamath  River. 

Sastean  family:  Shastas;  middle  northern  boundary  of  State. 

Takilman  family:  Lower  Rogue  River,  Oregon. 

Weitspekan  family:  Yurok,  Weitspek,  Lower  Klamath  River. 

Wishoskan  family:  Wishosk,  Eel  River,  and  Humboldt  Bay. 

Yanan  family:  Nozis,  north  of  Pujunan. 

Yukian  family;  Ashochimi,  Chumaya,  Napa,  Tatu  or  Potter  Valley,  Yuki  or  Round 
Valley,  in  Potter  and  Round  valleys." 

«For  classification  of  these  northern  tribes  on  the  concept  of  basketry,  consult 
Roland  B.  Dixon,  Basketry  Designs  of  the  Indians  of  Northern  California.  Bulletin 
of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  XVII,  pp.  1-32. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  441 


SOUTHERN   GROUP 

Chumashan  family;  Santa  Barbara,  Santa  Inez,  San  Luis  Obispo,  in  Santa  Barbara 
County. 

Costanoaii  family;  Mutsun;  Pacific  slope,  west  and  south  of  San  Francisco. 

Esselenian  family;  Soledad,  Eslen,  and  other  missions  close  by  on  Monterey  Bay. 

Mariposan  family;  Yokut  and  many  smaller  tribes,  Fresno  Elver. 

Moquelumnan  family;  Tulare,  Upper  Tulare  River. 

Salinan  family;  San  Antonio,  San  Miguel,  Monterey  County. 

Shoshonean  family;  Chemehuevi,  Panamint  and  others  intruded  along  the  eastern 
border,  more  and  more,  from  north  to  south,  reaching  the  Pacific  Ocean  at  the  Santa 
Barbara  Islands. 

Yuman  family;  including  Coehimi,  Cocopas,  Cuchan,  Dieguenos,  Havasupai,  Mari- 
copa,  Mohave,  Waicuru,  Walapai,  and  several  missions. a 

The  location  of  the  linguistic  families  in  California  is  shown  on  the 
map.  (See  fig.  163.)  A  glance  at  the  map  will  show  how,  in  a  general 
way,  the  State  is  divided  into  northern  and  southern  portions  by  a  line 
running  from  San  Francisco  Bay  to  the  angle  of  Nevada,  and  also  in 
the  same  manner  the  subdivision  of  the  northern  portion  of  the  State 
into  three  vertical  sections.  A  little  difference  exists  between  the 
nomenclature  of  this  map  and  that  of  Powell.  For  instance,  the 
Wintun  are  Copehan;  the  Maidu  are  Pujunan;  the  Yokut  on  this  map 
correspond  to  the  Powell  Mariposen,  but  in  Powell's  subdivision  of 
tribes  the  Yokuts  are  placed  in  the  Moquelumnan  family.  With  these 
slight  amendments  the  map  will  be  easily  understood  and  of  great 
importance  in  locating  California  basketry.  It  is  interesting  to  note 
that,  while  the  Powell  map  was  made  long  ago  from  vocabularies  only, 
the  Dixon-Kroeber  map  is  based  on  grammar,  and  yet  the  agreements 
are  nearly  complete.  Especial  attention  is  called  to  the  vast  area 
occupied  by  the  intruding  Shoshonean  family  from  the  interior  basin.6 

The  western  division  of  the  north  California  area,  including  the 
coast  of  Oregon  as  well,  may  be  divided  into  three  locations,  contain 
ing  each  different  tribes.  The  most  northern  would  be  Athapascan 
and  adjoining  families;  the  middle  division,  those  tribes  associated  in 
Round  Valley;  and  the  most  southern  of  all,  the  Porno. 

The  following  list  of  plants  carefully  prepared  by  V.  K.  Chesnut, 
of  the  Department  of  Agriculture, c  will  apply  to  the  Hupa,  the  Round 
Valley,  and  Porno  basketry: 

Acer  macropliyllum,  Pal  gun  sche  (Yuki),  maple.  The  Yukis  of  California  use  the 
bark  for  their  basketry.  The  Puget  Sound  Indians  employ  it  in  their  textiles,  and 
Roth  rock  says  that  from  the  inner  bark  the  tribes  of  the  Pacific  slope  weave  baskets, 
mats,  and  hats  waterproof. 

"Seventh  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  1891,  pp.  1-142. 

&  See  Roland  B.  Dixon  and  Albert  L.  Kroeber,  The  Native  Languages  of  California, 
American  Anthropologist,  V,  1903,  pp.  1-26. 

c  Plants  used  by  the  Indians  of  Mendocino  County,  California.  Contributions  from 
the  National  Herbarium,  VII,  pp.  295-408,  Washington,  1902. 


442 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 


Adiantviii  pedatum.  The  steins  of  maidenhair  fern  attain  a  length  of  1  to  2  feet  in 
the  redwood  belt  of  northern  California,  near  the  coast.  They  form  the  black  strands 
in  baskets  and  especially  basket  hats. 

Alums  rliombifolia,  mountain  alder,  l'ii  se  (Yuki);  Juskiat'  and  Kus  (Wailaki); 
Gashet/i  (Porno).  The  fresh  bark  is  used  by  the  Yukis,  as  well  as  the  Ilupa  and 
Klamath  Indians  of  California,  to  color  their  basket  material. 


LEGZffD 

Northwestern  or  yiiroA  Type 

Central  or  fyfaicLu.  Type 


L/aAa.  B.  7er6ere. 


FIG.  163. 

LINGUISTIC  MAP  OF  CALIFORNIA. 
Al'ter  Dixou  and  Kroeber. 


Apocynum  cannabinum,  in  Mendocino County,  California,  Indian  hemp;  Ma  (Yuki); 
Po,  in  Concow;  Masha  (Little  Lake);  and  Silimma  (Yokaia)  yields  the  common 
Indian  fiber.  The  inner  bark,  collected  in  the  fall,,  is  soft  and  strong  for  thread, 
twine,  ropes,  and  nets. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  443 

Asclepias  eriocarpa,  Go  to  la  (Little  Lakes);  Bo  ko  (Coiicow);  Machal  and  Chaak 
(Yuki),  poisonous  milkweed.  The  inner  bark  is  used  by  the  Eel  River,  Concow, 
Potter  Valley,  and  Little  Lake  Indians  for  strings,  nets,  and  other  textiles. 

Ikdneria  occidental-is,  Sai  ka  le  (Porno),  spice  bush  or  calycanthus.  Both  the  wood 
and  the  bark  from  fresh  shoots  are  used  in  basket  work. 

Carex,  Tsu  wish  (Porno),  blackroot  sedge.  Used  by  the  Porno  in  their  coiled 
basketry  for  decorating  in  black. 

Carex  sp.  The  long,  tough  rootstocks  of  several  and  perhaps  most  of  the  sedges 
(saw  grass)  in  Mendocino  County,  California,  are  used  by  the  basket  makers.  Great 
patience  is  exercised  in  tracing  these  from  2  to  5  feet  through  sand  and  mud  and  in 
preparing  the  splints.  The  baskets  made  from  them  are  called  "root  baskets." 
Sedge  rootstocks  are  the  most  important  underground  material,  and  the  baskets 
made  from  them  are  the  strongest,  most  durable,  and  most  costly.  Special  char 
acteristics  belong  to  the  different  species. 

Carex  larbarae,  Dewey,  Kahum,  (Porno  for  water-tight  baskets).  The  rootstocks 
furnish  the  splints  for  the  white  or  creamy  groundwork  of  most  Porno  baskets.  They 
are  dug  out  with  clam  shells  and  sticks  aiding  the  hands  and  feet. «  One  end  of  the 
stock  is  grasped  by  the  first  and  second  toes,  the  clam  shell  serves  for  scraping  away 
the  soil,  and  the  stick  for  prying  out  stones  and  loosening  the  ground.  A  woman 
will  secure  15  to  20  strands  a  day.  They  are  placed  in  water  over  night  to  preserve 
the  flexibility  and  to  soften  the  scaly  bark,  which  is  removed  in  the  morning  by  the 
women.  The  end  of  the  stick  is  chewed  until  the  bark  is  separated.  The  wood  is 
then  held  by  the  teeth,  the  other  end  of  the  stock  is  held  taut  by  the  first  and  second 
toes,  and  the  bark  is  scraped  away,  leaving  a  tough  white  or  tan-colored  strand  about 
one-half  the  original  thickness.  These  are  done  up  in  small  coils  and  carried  by  the 
women  to  the  camp.  Mr.  Coville  draws  attention  to  a  bit  of  primitive  agriculture  in 
this  connection.  The  Porno  women  insist  that  the  toughest  and  finest  roots  can  be 
obtained  only  at  certain  spots.  Unconsciously  they  have  been  making  this  true  by 
means  of  their  digging  sticks  and  clam  shells,  during  all  the  years  loosening  the 
ground  and  removing  weeds. 

Carex  sp.,  Ta  tet  el  (Wailaki),  sea  grass  or  sedge.  The  roots  and  leaves  used  in 
basketry,  especially  for  hats  and  cheap  semiflexible  baskets. 

CeanotJms  integerrimus.  The  Concow  squaws  gather  the  young  and  flexible  shoots 
of  the  California  lilac,  Hibi,  for  the  warp  of  their  baskets. 

Cercis  occidentalis.  The  bark  and  the  wood  from  sprouts  of  the  redbud,  Cha-ba,  in 
Yuki;  Mula,  in  Little  Lake;  Kala-a-kala,  in  Yokaia;  and  Dop  or  Talk,  in  Concow, 
are  used  in  finer  baskets  as  foundation,  as  weft  in  twined  ware,  and  as  sewing 
material  in  coiled  work.  The  Indians  produce  a  variety  of  results  in  Cercis.  The 
stems  are  sometimes  cut  in  winter  and  early  spring  to  insure  material  for  the  next 
fall.  The  color  of  the  bark  is  then  slightly  red,  which  may  be  darkened  by  exposure 
to  smoke  and  blackened  by  soaking  in  dirty  water,  in  water  and  ashes,  or  in  a  decoc 
tion  of  oak  bark  to  which  scraps  of  iron  have  been  added.  The  bark  to  be  used  in 
sewing  coiled  baskets  is  separated  by  steaming.  In  twined  basketry  some  of  the 
white  wood  is  left  adhering  to  the  bark,  in  which  case  designs  in  two  colors  are  pro 
duced,  since  the  willow  and  carex  are  both  much  darker. 

Corylus  calif ornica.  The  slender  stems  of  the  Hazelnut,  Olmarn,  in  Yuki;  Gom  he 
ni,  in  Concow;  Ch'  ki,  in  Wailaki;  Cha-ba,  in  Little  Lake,  are  commonly  used  in 
place  of  willows  in  Round  Valley  for  coarse  sieves  and  fish  traps  and  as  warp  in  saw- 
grass  baskets.  A  baby-carrying  basket  at  Ukiah  was  made  from  the  same  material. 
The  Calapooias  make  the  finest  openwork  twined  basketry  of  hazel  sticks. 
The  Coos  and  Roque  river  ware  resembles  the  Shasta,  the  latter  produce  excellent 
work  in  hazel  stems  (Mrs.  Me  Arthur). 


«  J.  W.  Hudson,  Overland  Monthly,  XXI,  1893,  pp.  561-578. 


444  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

Covillea  irideiitatu,  Tab  sun  up  (Paiutes),  creosote  wood.  It  is  one  of  the  common 
est  industrial  plants  in  southern  California,  Arizona,  and  southern  Utah.  The  gum 
is  used  by  the  Apaches  for  cement.  It  is  also  used  to  produce  a  greenish-yellow  dye. 
Owing  to  the  odor  emitted  when  heated,  the  plant  is  called  creosote  wood. 

Gymnogramma  trianyularis,  Gold-back  fern.  Common  on  open  brushy  hillsides 
throughout  Mendocino  County.  As  in  the  case  of  the  five-fingered  fern,  this  plant 
grows  much  more  thriftily  near  the  coast.  The  stems  are  also  used  there  in  the  mak 
ing  of  baskets. 

Juncus  tffiixnx  Linnaeus.  The  stalks  of  wire  grass.  Lolum,  in  Yuki;  Cha-ba,  by 
the  Potter  Valley,  Little  Lake,  and  Yokaia  Pomos;  and  Sito  by  the  Wailaki,  are 
used  in  Mendocino  County  for  making  temporary  baskets.  With  them  also  children 
are  initiated  into  the  art  of  basket  making,  and  rackets  used  in  gathering  pinole 
seed  as  well  as  fish  traps  are  woven. 

Lonicrra  interrupta,  Hal  wat  (Yuki),  honeysuckle.  The  Yukis  employ  the 
flexible  stems  slightly  for  hoops  in  basket  borders. 

Philadelphus  gordpnianus,  Ka  kuss  (Wailaki);  Shon  a  hi  (Little  Lakes);  Hawn  li 
(Yukis),  arrowwood.  A  species  of  syringa  or  mock  orange.  The  pithy  stems  are 
valued  on  account  of  their  lightness  for  the  manufacture  of  baskets  used  by  women 
for  carrying  babies. 

Pinus  sabiniana,  Pol  cum  ol  (Yuki)  nut  or  digger  pine.  Used  for  basketry.  The 
more  pliable  wood  from  the  root  is  the  chief  source  of  material  used  in  making  large 
V-shaped  baskets,  which  Little  Lake  Indians  use  for  carrying  acorns.  The  root  is 
warmed  in  hot,  damp  ashes,  and  strands  are  split  off  before  cooling.  They  are  brit 
tle  when  dry,  but  after  being  soaked  in  water  they  are  easily  manipulated  in  the 
more  simply  woven  baskets,  which  are  made  by  passing  the  strands  out  and  in 
through  the  numerous  vertical  withes  that  make  up  the  skeleton.  They  are  not 
sufficiently  pliable,  as  sedge  roots  are,  to  be  used  like  thread  in  wrapping  round  and 
round  a  horizontal  withe. 

Pseudotsuga  mucronata.  The  smaller  roots  of  the  Douglas  spruce,  Nu,  in  Yuki  lan 
guage,  are  used  in  fine  Porno  baskets.  They  are  found  in  sections  8  to  10  feet  long, 
uniform  in  thickness,  and  about  the  diameter  of  a  lead  pencil  (quoting  Hudson). 

Pteridium  aguilinwn,  Bis  (Calpella  Porno);  Bebi  (Little  Lakes);  Sulala  (Con- 
cows);  Dos  (Nomelakkis) ;  Ma  orda-git  (Yokaias),  the  bracken  fern.  The  hard 
wood  is  easily  split  into  flat  bands,  which  are  sometimes  used  by  the  coast  Indiana 
for  the  black  strands  of  their  cheaper  baskets.  They  are  much  less  frequently  used 
for  this  purpose  by  the  Indians  of  Round  Valley  and  Ukiah.  Because  susceptible 
of  a  fine  polish,  they  are  far  weaker  and  more  brittle  than  the  saw-grass  roots  which 
compose  the  weft  of  their  choicest  baskets.  The  black  color  is  imparted  by  burying 
in  mud. 

Quercus  lobata,  Ky  am  (Yuki),  white  oak,  acorn.  The  bark  is  used  to  a  very 
slight  extent  by  the  Concows  to  blacken  strands  of  the  redbud  for  use  in  basketry. 
Rusty  iron  is  added  to  the  water  extract  of  the  bark  to  produce  a  black  solution  in 
which  the  strands  are  allowed  to  remain  for  some  time. 

HI  MS  diversiloba.  For  dyeing  the  splints  with  which  somo  Porno  baskets  are  sewed. 
Dr.  Hudson  is  quoted  as  saying  that  an  intense  black  is  produced  by  applying  to 
them  the  fresh  juice  of  poison  oak  in  Porno,  Matuyaho;  in  Wailaki,  Kots  ta.  The 
slender  stems  are  also  worked  into  the  foundation  of  coiled  basketry.  Rhu$  aromatica, 
says  Purdy,  was  formerly  used  by  tribes  eastward  from  Ukiah,  as  redbud  is  used  by 
Pomos. 

Salix  argyrophylla.  The  white-leaved  willow,  Bam  Kal  e,  in  Porno;  Kalalno,  in 
Yokaia,  is  considered  the  best  for  coarse  baskets.  It  is  common  along  Russian  River, 
in  California.  It  is  not  found  at  Round  Valley,  so  these  Indians  would  carry  back 
small  supplies  of  the  slender  stems  when  they  returned  from  hop  picking  near  Ukiah. 
The  roots  are  also  highly  valued  in  making  certain  baskets. 


ABOB1GINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETKY.  445 

Scirpus  sp.  The  most  valuable  of  the  sedges  for  basket  splints  in  Mendocino 
County  is  an  unidentified  species  of  the  bulrush,  Scirpus  sp.,  Tsuwish,  in  Porno.  It 
is  an  article  of  commerce.  Being  rare  near  Ukiah,  it  is  purchased  at  a  cent  a  root 
from  plants  collected  by  Clear  Lake  Indians  and  in  parts  of  Sonoma  County  or  along 
the  seacoast.  The  rootstocks,  about  one-fourth  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  consist  of 
three  distinct  tissues — the  outer,  brown,  like  parchment;  the  middle;  and  the  heart, 
a  tough,  woody  structure.  The  outer  surface  of  this  woody  tissue,  which  makes  up 
the  great  bulk  of  the  black  fiber  in  the  finest  Porno  baskets,  is  slightly  ribbed  and 
varies  from  light  brown  to  nearly  jet-black.  The  interior  is  more  or  less  white. 
Some  of  the  dark  splints  are  used  just  as  they  are,  while  others  are  blackened  with 
the  juice  of  poison  oak,  Rhus  diversiloba,  or  by  burying  them  with  charcoal,  ashes, 
and  earth  for  about  eighty  hours. 

A  detailed  account  of  the  manipulation  of  these  rootstocks  at  Round  Valley  is 
given. « 

Smilax  californica  Gray,  the  only  species  of  smilax  in  California,  does  not  occur  in 
Mendocino  County,  but  is  common  along  the  headwaters  of  the  Upper  Sacramento. 
The  fine,  long  trailing  limbs  are  exceedingly  strong  and  are  used  to  some  extent  in 
Round  Valley  and  perhaps  at  Ukiah  for  basket  making.  The  Indians  say  that  the 
strands  have  a  brownish-black  color. 

Tumion  calif ornicum.  Splints  from  the  roots  of  the  California  nutmeg,  Kahe  in 
the  Yokaia  language  and  Ko'-bi  in  Porno,  are  said  to.be  used  by  the  Porno  in  some 
of  their  fine  baskets. 

Vitis  californica.  She  in  (Porno);  Mot  mo  mam  (Yuki);  Kop  (Numlaki) ;  wild 
grape.  The  native  wild  grape  of  the  region  climbs  over  trees  in  canyons  and  in 
damp  places  to  a  height  of  30  feet  or  more.  The  smaller,  woody  parts  of  the  vine 
are  extremely  flexible  and  are  very  considerably  used  by  the  tribes  for  the  rims  of 
their  large,  cone-carrying  baskets.  It  is  gathered  at  almost  any  time,  soaked  in 
water  and  hot  ashes,  after  which  the  bark  is  removed  and  the  wood  split  into  a 
couple  of  strands,  which,  although  very  coarse,  are  used  substantially  as  thread. 
The  tribes  of  California  make  ropes  and  various  household  articles  from  the  vine. 

As  a  connecting-  link  between  the  Salish  and  other  basketiy  north  of 
the  Klamath  River  and  the  true  California  types  there  is  here  shown 
the  figure  of  an  old  piece  of  basketiy  brought  from  Oregon  more  than 
sixty  years  ago  (fig.  164).  It  is  the  ordinary  coiled  weave  of  the 
West  Coast,  covered  with  red  and  white  feathers.  The  feathers  are 
caught  by  their  stems  under  the  stitches  as  the  work  progresses,  just 
as  in  the  Porno  and  other  California  tribes  of  to-day.  It  is  interesting 
to  find  this  type  of  work  so  far  north.  It  points  to  the  fact  that 
many  of  the  gaps  which  occur  in  this  study  could  have  been  easily 
filled  when  the  Indians  were  in  their  native  situations.  Holmes  has 
other  figures  in  the  same  type  of  basketry,  onry  the  feather  work  is 
combined  with  the  ornamentation  in  the  weaving  on  the  surface. 
Attention  is  called  again  to  the  fact  that  the  imbricated  ware  stopped 
short  at  the  Columbia  River.  The  plaits  of  grass  or  bark  overlie  one 
another  just  as  feathers  do  in  the  feather  work,  and  the  stem  of  the 
feather  is  doubled  under  the  stitches  in  the  same  way.  To  be  espe 
cially  noted  are  the  groups  of  vertical  stripes  on  the  margin  and  the 
chevroned  design  at  the  bottom.  Whether  there  was  genetic  relation- 

«  Plants  used  by  the  Indians  of  Mendocino,  California,  p.  317. 


446  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

ship  between  the  two  remains  to  be  studied  out.  The  specimen  Cata 
logue  No.  2138  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  was  collected  by 
Dr.  J.  L.  Fox,  U.  S.  Navy,  of  the  Wilkes  Exploring  Expedition. 

The  Pacific  slope  branch  of, the  Athapascan  family  is  found  in  the 
northwestern  corner  of  California  and  far  northward  into  Oregon. 
On  the  Hupa  Reservation  were  placed,  in  1864,  a  number  of  bands 
scattered  around  Trinity  River,  the  names  of  which  may  be  found  in 
the  Smithsonian  Report  for  1886,  Part  1.  As  late  as  1850  the  Hupa 
are  said  to  have  lived  in  pristine  simplicity.  Autumn  supplied  the 
all-important  acorn,  large  quantities  of  which  were  collected  and  kept 
in  store  for  use  during  the  winter  and  spring.  The  vegetable  food  is 
gathered  chiefly  by  the  women.  The  outfit  of  the  primitive  gleaner, 
miller,  and  cook  was  chiefly  in  basket  work.  While  no  edible  root  or 
food  was  despised,  the  oak  furnished  the  chief  breadstuff.  The  acorns 
were  gathered  in  an  osier  hamper  about  16  inches  high  and  20  inches 


FK;.  104. 

OLD  FEATHERED  BASKETS  FROM  OREGON. 
Collected  by  Dr.  J.  L.  Fox,  U.  S.  Navy. 

in  diameter,  made  in  twined  weaving.  It  was  used  by  the  women  in 
carrying  loads,  supported  by  a  band  across  the  forehead.  Filled  with 
acorns,  this  hamper  was  placed  on  the  back  and  held  in  position  by 
means  of  a  carrying  pad  consisting  of  a  disk  of  mat  5  by  4  inches. 
About  the  middle  of  October  the  Indians  beat  the  acorns  from  the 
trees  with  long  poles  and  carry  them  home  in  these  baskets.  The 
squaws  remove  the  hull  by  giving  it  a  slight  tap  with  a  pestle.  The 
nuts  were  then  dried  and  beaten  to  powder  in  a  mill  with  a  basket 
hopper.  The  flour  was  soaked  in  a  hollow  scooped  in  the  sand  and 
cooked  into  a  kind  of  mush  in  baskets  by  means  of  hot  stones  and 
were  baked  into  bread  in  an  underground  oven. 

If  the  harvest  were  of  seeds  instead  of  acorns,  they  were  winnowed 
in  another  basket  of  close-twined  weaving  which  the  good  woman 
had  not  failed  to  decorate  with  graceful  patterns,  following  that 
unconquerable  artistic  instinct  which  is  the  heritage  of  all  the  peoples 
who  breathe  the  air  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Under  the  heading  of 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  447 

uses  a  multitude  of  functions  for  the  Hupa  basket  will  be  described  in 
detail/' 

Dr.  W.  L.  Jepson  has  determined  for  Dr.  P.  E.  Goddard  the  mate 
rials  used  by  Hupa  in  baskets.  The  burden  basket,  the  baby  basket, 
and  the  salmon  plate  are  made  entirely  of  the  shoots  of  Corylus  ros- 
trata  var.  californica.  Hupa  name  is  muk-kai-kit-loi.  These  shoots 
form  foundation  or  warp  of  all  other  baskets  except  the  finest  hats  and 
the  covered  bottles.  For  these  shoots  of  willow  are  used,  of  which 
Salix  sessilifolia  and  8.  fluviatttis  var.  a/rgyrophyUa  are  indicated. 
These  willows  are  not  common  in  Hupa  Valley.  The  warp  stems 
while  slimmer  than  those  from  the  hazel,  are  said  not  to  be  so  durable. 
They  are  fastened  at  the  origin  of  the  basket  and  at  the  beginning  of 
the  body  by  rounds  twined  with  the  root  of  certain  deciduous  trees. 
This  material  is  called  indiscriminately  "  kiit."  The  roots  of  the  more 
common  willow  as  well  as  the  two  mentioned  are  used  besides  the  root 
of  AlnuM  or  eg  ana,  Yitis  californica  and  Populus  trichocarpa.  The 
principal  weft  of  all  close- woven  baskets  is  composed  of  the  root  of 
Conifer  ve.  Of  the  trees  growing  in  or  near  Hupa  the  roots  of  Pinus 
ponderosa,  P.  saMniana,  and  P.  lambertiana  are  used.  The  selection 
of  the  species  and  of  the  individual  trees  depends  on  their  readiness  to 
split  properly.  These  roots  are  roasted  in  the  ground.  Besides  these 
the  Hupa  import  from  the  coast,  material  from  Sequoia  sempervirens 
and  Picea  sUchensis.  These  root  materials  are  called  uxai."  The 
root  of  the  wild  grape,  Vitis  californica,  is  used  in  place  of  the  con 
ifers  roots  in  fine  hats  for  the  woof.  For  decorative  work  the  leaves 
of  Xerophyllum  tenax  serve  for  white,  and  the  bark  of  the  stems  of 
A.diantwn  pedatum  for  black.  A  reddish  brown  is  obtained  by  dye 
ing  the  inner  part  of  the  stem  of  Woodwordia  radicans  with  the  bark 
of  Alnus  oregana.  The  primitive  method  of  dyeing  was  to  chew  the 
bark  and  draw  the  splint  through  the  mouth  just  before  introducing 
it  into  the  woof.  The  alder  dye  is  now  sometimes  applied  by  steeping 
in  a  dish  but  the  results  are  said  to  be  not  so  certain.  Yellow  is 
obtained  by  dipping  the  leaves  of  Xeropliyllum  tenax  into  a  decoction 
of  Evernia  vulpina.  The  setting  of  this  dye  is  difficult  and  many 
women  do  not  use  the  yellow  in  basket  making.  Porcupine  quills  are 
dyed  with  this  lichen  giving  a  brighter  effect.  Their  use  is  not  com 
mon.  A  few  women  are  now  employing  the  "Oregon  grape"  for 
dyeing  the  xerophyllum  leaves.  Baskets  are  sometimes  collected  for 
Hupa  work  which  are  made  by  the  Tolowa  in  Del  Norte  County. 
These  have  a  steel-gray  color  obtained  by  dyeing  the  root  of  the  tide- 
land  spruce  with  rusty  iron.  The  root  and. iron  are  buried  in  the 
damp  ground  for  some  time.6 

«The  Kay  Collection  from  Hupa  Valley,  Smithsonian  Report,  1886,  pp.  205-239. 
6  P.  E.  Goddard,  The  Life  and  Culture  of  the  Hupas.     Publications  of  the  Uni 
versity  of  California,  I,  1903.     Anthropology. 


448  REPOBT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

Plate  170  represents  three  granary  baskets  of  the  Hupa  Indians  in 
the  Harvey  collection.  The  figure  shown  on  the  right  is  used  as  a 
cover  for  the  granary.  These  baskets  furnish  excellent  examples  of 
form  and  decoration,  as  well  as  technical  processes,  among  this  Atha 
pascan  group.  It  has  been  mentioned  before  that  we  have  here  an 
example  of  acculturation  through  women  of  an  art  created  by  the 
conservative  sex.  If  a  number  of  Hupa  men  of  Athapascan  stock 
broke  into  this  area  and  took  to  themselves  wives  of  the  country  the 
weaving  processes  would  not  be  changed,  so  that  in  any  one  of  these 
baskets  will  be  found,  beginning  at  the  bottom,  three-strand  twined 
weaving;  above  that  two-strand  plain-twined  weaving,  and  over  the 
surface  decoration  in  overlaying.  On  the  granary  baskets  the  trian 
gular  and  rectangular  elementary  forms  are  worked  into  vertical 
stripes,  the  basis  of  which  is  the  bent  line,  or  zigzag,  forming  the 
ornamentation,  the  leaves  of  grass  alternate  with  the  foundation  color 
by  laving  a  strip  of  the  former  on  the  latter  and  exposing  it  or  turn 
ing  it  under  at  will.  Dr.  Goddard,  in  his  paper  published  by  the 
University  of  California,  gives  the  following  symbolism: 

The  isosceles  triangle  the  Hupa  calls  "rattlesnake's  nose"  (Luwminchwuw); 
right-angled  triangles  made  with  a  horizontal  line  meeting  a  vertical  line  are  called 
"sharp  and  slanting"  (chesLinalwiltchwel).  Oblique-angled  parallelograms  are 
very  frequently  used.  The  name  given  them  is  "  set  on  top  of  one  another"  (niLkut- 
daaaan).  Another  design,  which  lacks  beauty  on  account  of  its  jagged  appearance, 
is  called  "grizzly  bear  his  hand"  (mikyowe  mila).  Another  figure  is  called  "frog 
his  hand"  (tewal  mila).  A  third  design  lias  angles  projecting  upward  with  the 
vertical  lines  on  the  outside  of  the  figure  and  the  oblique  lines  sloping  inward  and 
downward.  This  pattern  is  called  "swallow's  tail"  (teschechmikye)  or  "points 
sticking  up"  (chaxcheufieL). 

When  the  isosceles  triangles  (called  Luwminchwuw)  are  grouped  one  above 
another  they  are  called  Luwminchwuw  nikutdasaan  ("snake's  nose  piled  up"). 
When  these  figures  come  back  to  back  so  as  to  form  diamonds  alternating  with  the 
background  they  are  called  Lokyomenkonte  ( "sturgeon's  back").  When  the  figure 
apex  is  superimposed  011  a  trapezoid  the  name  cha  is  given  to  the  design.  These 
figures  are  nearly  always  so  connected  as  to  encircle  the  basket,  when  the  name 
LenaLdauw  is  given  to  it,  signifying  "it  encircles."  A  design  which  seems  to  be 
the  trapezoids  superimposed  is  called  LekyuwineL  ("they  come  together").  The 
conception  of  the  design  seems  to  be  that  of  the  second  variety  of  triangles  back  to 
back.  A  series  of  rectangular  parallelograms  superimposed  so  that  each  higher 
one  projects  to  the  right  of  the  one  below  it,  the  whole  being  bordered  by  a  double 
line  conforming  to  the  outline,  is  called  kowitselminat  ("worm  goes  round"  or 
"worm's  stairway").  The  oblique-angled  parallelograms  in  pairs,  with  the  upper 
one  at  the  right,  are  the  designs  most  frequently  found  on  the  hats.  They  are  found 
in  series  on  the  storage  baskets  (djelo).  Usually  even  numbers  are  employed,  pre 
serving  the  symmetry  of  the  zone.  Designs  in  red  often  have  horizontal  lines  in 
black.  Oblique  lines  in  white  often  run  across  the  design.  When  such  lines  run 
through  the  oblique-angled  parallelogram  they  are  called  niLkutdasaan  mikiteweso 
( ' '  one-on-the-other  its  scratches  " ) . 

Plate  171  represents  a  basketmaked*  from  the  Hupa  Reservation  in 
northern  California,  wearing  one  of  the  beautiful  twined  basket  hats, 


I 

ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  449 

so  called  among  this  tribe.  She  also  has  about  her.  as  a  garment,  a 
deerskin  decorated  with  long  fringes  of  false  braided  work  in  straw, 
the  work  done  in  a  single  strand.  This  photograph  was  taken  by 
Governor  John  Daggett,  of  Black  Bear,  California. 

Plate  172  is  a  portrait  of  Mary  or  Sheretta,  a  Klamath  Indian 
woman,  using  different  forms  of  basketry  in  the  milling  and  cooking 
industry.  Acorns  are  picked  in  a  gathering  basket,  brought  home  in  a 
carrying  basket,  ground  in  a  mill  with  a  basket  hopper,  the  bitterness 
leeched  out  of  the  acorn  mill  fixed  in  a  bed  of  sand,  dipped  with  a 
basket  ladle  into  a  basket  where  it  is  cooked  by  means  of  hot  stones, 
and  afterwards  served  in  dishes  of  basketry.  This  was  also  photo 
graphed  by  Governor  Daggett. 

The  lower  figure  is  a  Wintun  woman  on  McCloud  River,  in  northern 
California,  making  a  basket.  The  utter  wretchedness  and  lack  of 
inspiration  from  the  environment  could  not  possibly  be  worse.  The 
Wintuns  belong  to  the  Copehan  family. 

From  Governor  Daggett  comes  the  information  that  the  California 
Indians  about  him  make  the  frame  of  the  coiled  baskets  of  hazel  twigs 
skinned.  The  weaving  is  done  with  split  pine  root.  The  ornamental 
patterns  are  produced  by  sour  grass  and  maidenhair  fern.  The  white 
splint  is  dyed  by  being  chewed  in  the  woman's  mouth  together  with 
alder  bark,  making  a  kind  of  animated  vat  of  herself.  For  the  conical 
carrying  basket,  the  Hupa  Indian  name  is  As  tim  num.  Papoose  bas 
ket,  locks  too;  soup  cooking  basket,  sal  am  poki;  soup  eating  basket, 
pas  tarrurn;  large  storehouse,  sip  nook;  cover  to  same,  ash  roos; 
mortar  basket  with  hole  in  bottom,  kraam  num;  acorn  sifter,  a  flat 
disk,  ten  na  bra;  acorn  bowl,  moo  roch. 

South  of  the  Hupa  Indians  is  the  Round  Valley  Reservation  with 
the  following-named  tribes:  Concow  (Pujunan);  Little  Lakes  (Kula- 
napan);  Redwoods  and  Yukies  (Yukian);  Wailakis  (Athapascan);  Pit 
Rivers  (Palaihnahan),  and  the  Nomelakis  (Copehan  or  Wintun  fam 
ily).  A  moment's  thought  will  show  why  it  is  that  varieties  in  basket 
types  come  from  this  reservation.  The  Indian  tribes  of  the  neighbor 
hood  are  mixed  with  those  of  the  Sacramento  Valley  and  Maidu  or 
Pujunan  people  east  of  the  Sierras.  With  biological  mixture  there 
has  been  corresponding  fertilization  of  ideas. 

N.  J.  Purcell,  for  a  long  time  agent  among  the  Round  Valley 
Indians,  describes  the  gathering  basket  as  coarse  meshed  and  roughly 
constructed.  He  has  sent  to  the  National  Museum  an  example  made  by 
the  Little  Lake  tribe.  It  is  woven  of  sticks  with  the  bark  on,  and  is 
very  quickly  made.  It  has  a  buckskin  string  attached  about  the  center, 
by  which  it  is  carried.  It  is  used  for  gathering  acorns,  nuts,  grain, 
etc.  When  filled,  this  basket  is  emptied  into  a  large  carrying  basket, 
this  being  repeated  until  the  larger  basket  is  filled. 

The  large  carrying  basket  is  always  put  in  some  convenient  place 
NAT  MUS  1902 29 


450  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

and  a  smaller  one  is  used  for  picking  of  nuts  or  grain.  Several  of  the 
other  tribes  there  use  the  same  basket,  though  it  seems  to  have  orig 
inated  among  the  Little  Lake  Indians.  The  willow  of  which  it  is  com 
posed  is  of  the  ordinary  kind  which  is  seen  along  nearly  all  the  creeks 
in  the  East  and  is  equally  as  plentiful  here. 

The  sticks  are  generally  used  while  green,  though  they  are  fre 
quently  gathered  in  quantities,  allowed  to  dry,  then  soaked  in  water 
as  they  are  required  for  use. 

The  carrying  sack  is  made  like  an  ordinaiy  hunting  bag  and  about 
the  size.  It  is  manufactured  by  the  Concow  Indians  only.  The  buck 
skin  string  attached  is  thrown  across  the  shoulder,  allowing1  the  sack 
to  swing  by  the  side,  as  we  carry  the  hunting  bag.  The  material  of 
which  it  is  made  is  from  a  weed-like  plant  that  grows  from  3  to  5 
feet  high,  found  in  but  one  place  in  this  country.  At  the  foot  of  the 
Black  Butte,  about  7,000  feet  above  sea  level,  it  grows  in  great  quan 
tities.  This  plant,  bo-coak,  bears  a  large  white  flower,  which  is  rilled 
with  seed  and  has  quite  an  agreeable  odor.  The  leaves  are  large  and 
long,  tapering  at  the  points.  In  winter  the  stalks  die  and  become 
hard  and  dry,  and  are  gathered  in  great  quantities  by  the  Indians. 
The  bark  is  carefully  taken  off  and  the  material  from  which  the  twine 
is  made  is  stripped  from  the  inside  of  the  bark.  This  flax-like  material 
is  as  white  as  cotton  and  seems  much  superior  in  strength.  In  mak 
ing  his  twine  the  Indian  seats  himself,  after  first  removing  his  trousers, 
takes  enough  of  this  flax  to  twist  into  about  the  size  of  No.  10  cotton 
in  his  left  hand,  lays  it  across  the  fleshy  part  of  his  right  leg,  licks  the 
palm  of  his  right  hand,  places  it  upon  the  flax  and  twists  it.  In  this 
way  they  make  twine  of  all  sizes,  from  that  of  the  coarse  sewing 
thread  to  that  of  a  half-inch  rope. 

In  early  times  all  the  sewing  they  did  was  with  this  thread,  using  a 
sharpened  bone  for  a  needle.  The  larger  size  twine  was  for  making 
fish  nets,  bird  nets,  carrying  sacks,  snaring  deer,  etc. 

The  mortar  basket  is  used  for  pounding  acorns,  grain,  all  kinds  of 
nuts  and  seeds.  It  is  made  of  tough  XQQks  o>f  the^fir^  which  are  usually 
gathered  in  spring  or  winter,  when  the  ground  is  soft.  Hoots  of  the 
small  saplings  are  preferred,  being  tougher  than  those  of  the  old  tree. 
The  size  of  the  roots  gathered  varies  from  one-half  to  1^  inches. 
These  are  now  buried  under  hot  ashes  and  are  allowed  to  remain  thus 
for  an  hour.  They  are  then  taken  out,  not  burned,  but  very  hot. 
This  steaming  process  toughens  them  and  makes  them  split  more 
easily,  besides  seasoning  them  to  some  extent.  The  squaw  now  takes 
this  hot  root  in  both  hands,  seizes  it  near  the  end  with  her  front  teeth, 
throws  her  head  back  and  her  hands  forward,  and  the  root  is  split 
exactly  in  the  center  in  less  than  half  a  minute. 

The  two  halves  are  again  split  in  like  manner  and  so  on  until  the 
pieces  become  about  twice  as  large  as  required.  The  craftswoman  is 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  451 

now  more  careful,  and  the  last  piece  is  sometimes  started  with  a 
sharp  rock  or  knife,  but  usually  with  the  teeth.  One  end  of  the  splint 
is  caught  in  the  right  hand,  the  other  being  kept  between  the  teeth. 
The  thumb  and  forefinger  of  the  left  hand  are  clinched  tightly  on  the 
stick  below  the  mouth.  The  head  and  right  hand  are  now  pulled 
slowly  from  each  other.  As  the  operation  proceeds  the  finger  and 
thumb  of  the  left  hand  are  slowly  slipped  down  in  front  of  the  split 
part.  Thus  this  last  piece  is  divided  accurately  in  the  middle.  The 
splints  are  not  used  at  once,  but  are  tied  up  in  large  circular  coils  and 
allowed  to  season,  which,  however,  does  not  take  long,  as  they  are 
thin  and  the  heating  process  aids  in  seasoning  them  very  quickly. 
Being  now  prepared  to  make  a  basket,  the  woman  uncoils  the  splints 
and  throws  them  into  a  pan  or  basket  of  water,  which  renders  them 
pliable  and  easy  to  be  worked.  The  ribs  of  the  basket  are  willow 
switches  with  the  bark  scraped  off.  In  beginning  the  basket  two  of 
the  splints  are  taken  from  the  water  and  attached  to  one  of  the  ribs 
with  a  kind  of  wrapped  knot,  so  fastened  as  to  allow  one  splint  to 
stand  toward  the  weaver  and  one  directly  from  her.  Another  rib  is 
now  set  close  to  the  first  one,  and  the  splints  are  reversed;  that  is,  the 
outside  is  pulled  toward  the  weaver  and  the  inside  one  is  put  from 
her;  this  forms  a  half  turn  around  each  side  of  a  rib,  the  splints 
crossing  or  twining  between  the  ribs.  The  same  weave  is  used  in  the 
construction  of  the  whole  basket.  Around  the  extreme  top  of  this 
basket  is  a  half -inch  stick  usually  wrapped  or  stitched  on  with  small 
vines  split  in  the  center.  The  dark  red  material  used  occasionally  in 
this  basket  ( Qercis  occidentalis)  is  found  in  the  mountains  and  is  an 
undergrowth  never  attaining  a  size  larger  than  one's  ankle.  The 
Indians  call  it  "mo-lay."  It  bears  a  red  blossom  and  small  slender 
switches  grow  up  at  the  bottom  of  the  larger  bush  which  are  of  a 
dark  red  color.  These  are  split  open  in  the  middle  in  the  same  way 
as  the  fir  root,  save  that  they  are  not  heated.  The  stitches  represent 
half  the  size  of  the  stick,  as  it  is  split  only  once.  The  wood  with 
bark  off  is  snow  white. 

Mr.  Purcell,  in  describing  a  pretty  little  basket  of  grass  root  covered 
with  red  feathers,  made  by  the  Little  Lake  Indians,  says  every  mother 
in  this  tribe  presents  one  of  these  baskets  to  her  child  when  it  is  about 
7  years  of  age  with  the  admonition  to  take  care  of  the  gift.  They 
have  a  superstition  that  if  the  basket  is  lost  some  evil  will  befall  the 
child.  It  is  impossible  to  obtain  one  of  these  from  the  Little  Lakes, 
the  specimen  described  having  been  secured  in  the  Concow  tribe. 

Under  the  name  of  Porno  are  included  a  great  number  of  tribes  or 
little  bands,  thirty,  according  to  Hudson,  Purdy,  and  Wilcomb — 
sometimes  one  in  a  valley,  sometimes  more — clustered  in  the  region 
where  the  headwaters  of  the  Eel  and  Russian  rivers  interlace,  along 
the  latter  and  around  the  estuaries  of  the  coast.  In  disposition  the 


452 


KEPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 


Porno  are  quite  different  from  the  Yuki  and  their  congeners,  being 
simple,  friendly,  peaceable,  and  inoffensive.  The}'  are  also  much  less 
cunning  and  avaricious  and  less  quickly  imitative  of  the  whites  than 
the  lively  tribes  on  the  Klamath,  to  whom  they  are  inferior  in  intel 
lect.  As  to  their  physique,  there  prevails  on  the  Russian  River 
essentially  the  same  types  as  that  seen  in  the  Sacramento  Valley. 
When  first  occupied  by  the  European,  the  valleys  inhabited  by  the 
Porno  teemed  with  wild  grasses  and  the  streams  were  hedged  in  with 
carex  and  willow.  The  native  grasses  have  almost  disappeared,  while 
the  carices  have  given  place  in  the  lowlands  to  hops  and  alfalfa. 
Many  ranchers  forbid  an  Indian  to  dig  on  their  lands,  thus  limiting 
the  weaving-material  supply  to  outlying  canyons  or  compelling  a  sub 
stitution  of  inferior  material.  Sometimes  an  indifferent  worker  will 
use  but  one  character  of  material  in  a  basket;  for  instance,  the  redbud 
shoots  for  warp  and  the  two  contrasting  sides  of  the  cortex  for  pat 
tern.  This  method,  called  bi-to'-i,  effects  looseness  of  weft  and  warp, 
incongruity  of  colors,  and  instability  of  the  vessel,  and  is  strongly 
condemned  by  an  expert.  Some  weavers  will  conscientiously  refuse 
to  work  rather  than  substitute  hai  (woody  material)  for  ma-3Tem' 
(roots).  The  following  notes  b}T  J.  W.  Hudson  accompanied  his  col 
lection  to  the  National  Museum: 

Vegetal  materials  for  Porno  basketry 


Indian  name. 

Scientific  name. 

Common  name. 

Parts  used. 

Ka-hum'  

C'circx  barlxirn'  

California  sedge  

Prepared  root. 

Tsu-wish'  

Cam 

Black-rooted  sedge 

Dyed  root 

Shi-ko' 

Salix  sitchcnsis 

Bam 

Salix  scssifolict 

Ilinds's  willow 

Prepared  stems 

Ma-16-ma-16  .  .  . 

Salix  nigrn  

Prepared  inner  bark. 

Ka-ll'-she 

Pinus  sabiniana 

Nut  pine 

Split  root 

Ka-wa'  

Pseudotsuga  taxi  folia.  . 

Douglas  spruce 

Root. 

Bis 

Ptcridinm  aquilinu  m 

Brake  or  bracken 

Prepared  root 

Mu-16  

Cercis  occidentalis  .  . 

Redbud 

Bark  of  shoots. 

Pshu-ba.'  

Corylus  calif  orn  ica  

Beaked  hazel  

Stems. 

Bam-tii 

Vitis  californica 

Grape 

Vine. 

Ma-shsV  

Linum  ralifornicum  

California  flax  

Prepared  stems. 

Wilcomb  finds  black  designs  sewed  in  tule  root  and  fern  roots  also. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 

Animal  materials  for  Porno  basketry 


453 


Indian  name. 

Scientific  name. 

Common  name. 

Parts  used. 

Prepared  shell. 

Kd-ya 

Cardium  corbis 

Prepared  shell. 

Tern     

Haliotis  

Prepared  shell. 

Ka-tf'te' 

Mela  ncrpcs  form  icivorus* 

Woodpecker 

Throat  and  scalp  feathers 

Ju-sMl' 

Stumelln  inngnci 

Meadow  lark  

Breast  feathers. 

Chi-ka-ka 

Lopliortyx  californicus 

Crested  quail 

Crest 

Ka-yan' 

Anas  boschus 

Mallard 

Scalp  feathers. 

Tsa-wa-lu 

Cynnurn  stellcri  

California  jay  

Neck  feathers. 

Ba-chi-a  

Colaptcs  cafer  

Mexican  woodpecker  

Quill  splittings. 

Shai-i 

A(jnil(t  chrysactos 

Golden  eagle 

Tail  and  pinions. 

Tsu-li-a     

Afjclnius  gubcmador  

Tricolored  blackbird  

Elbow  feathers. 

Kai-v6-vo 

Icterus  buttock  it 

Bullock's  oriole 

Neck  and  breast. 

Po<i 

Magnetite 

Magnetic  iron  ore  

Burned,    prepared    cylin 

ders. 

Ka-hum'  is  split  into  strings  or  flat  splints  and  kept  wet  during  the 
process  of  construction.  Color,  light  tan  or  white.  Used  in  sewing 
coiled  basketry. 

Tsu-wish'  is  buried  with  ashes  for^ -about  eighty  hours,  thus  dyeing 
to  shades  of  black;  then  split  into  splints  like  Ka-hum'. 

Shi-ko,  split  into  splints.  Whole  stems  are  used  for  fish  weirs; 
color,  cream. 

Bam.  1.  Young  shoots  decorticated  and  polished  for  foundation  of 
coiled  basketry ;  color,  straw. 

2.  Splittings  from  bark  of  }roung  shoots. 

3.  Splittings  of  young  shoots. 
Ma-lo-ma-lo.  Inner  bark  strips;  color,  dark  tan 
Ka-li-she.   Split  root;  color,  buff. 

Ka-wa.   Split  root,  trimmed  limbs;  color,  gray. 

Bis.  Chewed  and  cleansed  root,  split;  black. 

Mu-le.  Bark  of  shoots,  split  into  tape  with  a  bit  of  wood  adhering; 
burnt-sienna  color.  Used  in  sewing  coiled  basketry. 

Pshu-ba.  Trimmed  stems. 

Bam-tu.  Vine,  used  rough  or  decorticated. 

Ma-sha.  Crushed,  hackled,  and  combed. 

Ka-ya.  Manufactured  from  clam  shells;  current  among  the  Indians 
as  "Indian  silver."  Monetic  base. 

Po.  Magnetite,  mined  in  Lake  County,  California.  Heated  dull 
red,  then  tempered  in  hot  water.  Knapped  and  scoured  into  cylinders. 

Bored.  Current  as  Indian  gold,     Monetic  base. 

All  prepared  vegetals  turn  dark  with  age,  and  especially  by  the 
smoke  from  the  open  fires  in  Indian  huts. 

Tsu-wish  ranks  first  in  value;  a  bunch  equals  100  Ka-ya.  A  bunch 
of  Ka-hum  equals  65  Ka-ya;  Mu-le,  20  Ka-ya. 


454  REPORT    OF   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,   1902. 

Plate  1T3  illustrates  a  coiled  basket  of  the  Porno  Indians  left  unfin 
ished  to  show  the  workmanship.  The  foundation  is  in  the  style  called 
Tee  weaving,  twined  work,  described  and  illustrated  on  page  239  and 
in  fig.  27.  These  structural  features  are  clearly  set  forth  in  the  plate, 
in  the  foreground  the  vertical  and  the  horizontal  warp,  as  well  as  the 
twined  weft,  appear  in  their  true  association.  The  bod}T  sewing  is 
done  with  white  splints  of  mu  le  or  redbud  ( Cercis  Occident  al  is) ;  the 
figures,  representing  mountains,  are  wrought  with  brown  splints  of 
cercis.  It  is  10  inches  in  diameter,  collected  by  Dr.  J.  W.  Hudson, 
and  is  Catalogue  No.  200013  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum. 

In  feather  work,  each  feather  is  plucked  from  the  prepared  skin  of 
the  bird  and  neatly  caught  under  a  stitch,  which  is  then  drawn  tight. 
They  are  used  either  to  heighten  the  color  without  aiding  the  design 
or  the  design  is  in  the  feathers  and  not  in  the  stitches.  For  the  former 
quail  plumes  and  the  red  feathers  from  the  woodpecker's  head  are 
employed.  The  red  feathers  are  placed  regular!}'  but  thinly  on  the 
stitches  of  the  upper  half  of  the  basket  and  the  quail  plumes  scattered, 
or  below  three  rows  of  shell  disks  (kaia)  on  the  upper  edge  of  the 
basket.  In  the  feather  basket  proper  there  are  two  varieties  called 
"tapica"  and  "epica."  The  tapica  is  the  so-called  sun  basket;  but 
Purdy  insists  that  the  word  means  ured  basket."  The  oldest  speci 
mens  are  saucer-shaped  baskets,  covered  with  red  feathers,  decorated 
with  pendants  of  kaia  and  abalone,  with  circles  of  shell  money.  The 
use  of  other  feathers  than  red  is  a  charming  innovation.  The  Ballo 
kai  Pomo  name  for  feather  baskets  in  any  other  shape  is  "epica/' 
When  the  Pomo  use  shell  disks  (kaia)  to  decorate  coiled  basketry,  a 
thread  is  carried  along  under  the  stitches  and  the  disks  threaded  on  as 
needed.  Beads  are  usually  applied  in  the  same  way,  but  in  some 
examples  they  are  threaded  on  the  sewing  filaments.  (Carl  Purdy.) 

There  is  no  more  interesting  group  of  Indians  in  America  than  the 
Pomo  with  respect  to  the  variety  of  technical  processes  in  basketry. 
They  not  onl}^  understand  many  of  the  processes  common  among 
other  tribes,  but  have  introduced  one  or  two  types  of  manipulation 
peculiar  to  themselves.  The  following  classification,  prepared  by 
J.  W.  Hudson  and  Carl  Purdy,  shows  the  variety  of  basket  work 
made  by  them: 

TWINED    WORK    (TSHAMA) 

1.  Pshukan  (Shakan,  Purdy),  coarse  twined  work  of  shuba  or  hazel. 

2.  Pshutsin,  wrapped  weft,  happily  called  backstitching  by  Hudson. 

3.  Bam  tush,  plain  twined  weaving. 

4.  Shuset,  twine  over  two  warp  rods,  diagonal. 

5.  Sheetsin,  three-strand  braid  or  twine. 

6.  Lit,  Makah  style,  wrapped  weft  twined  (figs.  20,  21). 

7.  Tee,  twined  weaving  over  lattice  foundation. 


ABOKIGINAL    AMEEICAN    BASKETRY,  455 

COILED    WORK    (SHIBU) 

8.  Shailo,  foundation  of  splints  (Shailo,  Purdy). 

9.  Tsai,  foundation  of  one  rod. 

10.  Baumko,  two-stem  foundation  laid  vertically. 

11.  Bamsbibu,  foundation  of  3  rods. 

12.  Bamteck,  four-stem  foundation. 

13.  Tsawam,  the  half -hitch  work  on  cradles. 

Purdy  adds  ringed  and  sewed;  each  circle  of  foundation  complete. 
These  names  are  from  Yokaia,  Upper  Yokaia,  Calpella,  and  Potter 
Valley.  The  word  for  basket  in  Potter  is  Pika;  at  Upper  Lake,  Sitol; 
at  Lower  Lake,  Kolob;  at  Cache  Creek,  Kawah. 

1.  Pshu-kan'  (fish  weir)  in  its  simplest  form  is  the  binding  of  a  row 
of  upright  warp  rods  by  means  of  pairs  of  hazel  or  willow  shoots  pass 
ing  them  horizontally  with  a  half  twist  in  each  space.     Undressed 
material  is  the  rule,  but  in  more  delicate  household  vessels  the  willow 
is  decorticated,  even  polished.     Hazel  (Shu  ba,  the  fisherman)  was  the 
original  material.     It  is  nothing  more  than  a  very  coarse  open  twined 
work,  passing  now  and  then  into  three-strand  twine.     (See  fig.  20.) 

2.  Pshutsin,  a  very  substantial  means  of  framing  a  large,  heavy 
structure,  such  as  granaries,  sheathing  for  thatch,  game  fences,  etc. 
It  is  in  effect  wrapped  twined  weaving,  seen  also  in  Mohave  canning 
frames.     From  the  periphery  a  strand  of  grapevine  loosely  encircles 
two  ribs,  passing  to  the  left  over  four  ribs,  then  backward,  catching 
two  or  more  and  repeating  gradually,  back  two,  forward  four,  inward 
to  the  center  or  apex.     A  second  vine  catches  a  rib  at  the  bottom  of 
the  roof  passing  to  the  left  over  four  ribs,  encircling  two,  thence  zig 
zags  parallel  with  No.  1  to  the  top.     This  is  repeated  till  spaces  are 
covered.     Pshutsin  effects  in  house  building  a   coarse  mesh  at  the 
foundation,  but  gradually  closed  in  at  the  apex,  where  most  needed. 
In  granaries  the  conditions  are  reversed,  but  the  effect  is  the  same. 
Fences  require  an  additional  top  vine.     (See  fig.  13.) 

3.  Bamtush   (Bamtu,    grapevine)   plain   twined   weaving.     Pattern 
and  aesthetic  art  were  here  born,  the  brown  bark  of  the  vine  contrast 
ing  with  pale  yellow  of  the  inner  vine  splittings.     The  grape  has  long 
since  been  discarded  for  stronger  and  more  polished  material.     Bam 
tush  is  the  strongest  weave  and  is  used  in  carrying  baskets,  acorn  bas 
kets,  and  veiy  large,  heavy  mush  baskets.     There  is  a  warp  of  willow 
or  other  stems  radiating  from  the  bottom.     On  this  the  warp  is  laid 
in  pairs,  the  two  splints  being  twisted  a  half  time  in  passing  a  warp 
stem.     The  effect  is  that  of  ribbed  cloth  or  corduroy.     The  ornamen 
tation  is  usually  in  bands.     (See  fig.  15.) 

4.  Shuset  is  twining  over  two  warps  and  alternating  from  round  to 
round  and  affords  the  amplest  opportunity  for  artistic  display.     It  is 
called  diagonal  or  twilled-twined  work,  as  its  surface  is  the  smoothest 


456  EEPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

of  Porno  weaves;  the  patterns  are  bold  and  clear  and  cover  the  whole 
area.  It  is  the  only  weave  whose  pattern  is  not  woven  through. 
It  has  also  the  mode  of  delicate  structure.  It  is  used  in  large  acorn 
baskets,  also  in  mush  baskets,  being  strong,  smooth,  and  moderately 
close.  Some  line  gift  baskets  are  also  in  this  weave,  and  it  seems  to 
be  susceptible  of  much  more  elaborate  ornamentation  than  the  plain 
twined  work.  The  word  Shuset,  says  Hudson,  is  understood  only  as 
far  south  as  Ukiah  City,  the  Yokaia  term  for  diagonal  twine  being 
Bam  tsai.  (See  tig.  20.) 

5.  Sheetsin  is  a  style  of  three-strand  twined  weaving  in  which  at 
each  third  of  a  turn  one  weft  filament  is  carried  behind  a  warp  stem. 
It  will  be  seen  at  once  that  when  the  bundle  of  weft  filaments  has 
made  a  whole  revolution,  each  one  of  them  will  have  been  carried 
behind   the  warp.     On  the  inside  this  basketry  does   not  differ   in 
appearance  from  common  twined  weaving,  but  on  the  outside  each 
weft  element  passes  over  three  warp  stems  and  under  one. 

There  is  a  peculiar  type  of  Sheetsin  used  chiefly  to  start  the  foun 
dations  of  twined  baskets.  It  is  a  three-strand  weft  in  which  a  braid 
is  formed  instead  of  a  twine,  one  of  its  elements  passing  over  each 
warp,  the  other  two  remaining  outside.  On  the  inside  the  effect  is  of 
plain  twined  weaving,  while  on  the  outside  the  effect  is  diagonal. 
(See  fig.  28.) 

6.  Lit  is  a  style  of  twined  weaving  in  which  one  of  the  elements 
remains  on  the  inside  of  the  basket  and  the  other  is  wrapped  around 
the  checks  formed  by  the  crossing  of  this  horizontal  element  with  the 
vertical  warps.     The  Makah  Indians,  of  Cape  Flattery,  employ  this 
technic  almost  exclusively,  but  Hudson  says  the  Kulanapan  tribes  used 
it  only  to  give  variety  to  a  surface  in  which  plain  twine  and  Shuset 
are  used.     On  the  same  authority,  this  word  Lit  is  known  among  all 
the  Porno  tribes,  even  among  the  Tsawalu  Porno,  near  Guernerville. 
(See  figs.  21,  22.) 

7.  Tee  (intricate)  is  a  double  structure,  a  Bamtush  reinforced  by 
horizontal  warp  across  the  outside  of  the  vertical.     On  the  inside  this 
ware  is  undistinguishable  from  plain  twined  work.     Its  characteristics 
are  great  strength,  the  closest  mesh,  and  a  pattern  dim  and  impres- 
sional.      It  is   the  most  difficult  and  highest  priced  of  the  Tshama 
weaves.     The  openwork  basket  trays  in  tee  weave  are  called  by  Dr. 
Hudson  psher  kom,  or  fish  plate.     (See  fig.  27.) 

The  name  Shi  bu,  or  Tschibu,  applies,  says  Purdy,  in  realit}^  to 
only  the  three-stick  coiled  baskets.  The  full  name  is  Bam  shi  bu,  or 
Bamsibu,  sticks  three.  No  branch  of  the  Porno  use  it  except  for  three- 
stick  baskets  and  only  the  Calpella,  Kalshe,  and  Ballo  bai  Porno  use  it 
at  all  as  a  basket  name.  One-stick  baskets  in  Calpella,  Kalshe,  and 
Ballo  bai  Porno  are  bam  cha,  stick  one,  or  tishais.  The  filaments  of 
Porno  Shibu  coiled  basketry  are  shaved  down  to  uniform  width  and 
thickness  with  the  greatest  care. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  457 

8.  Shailo,  suggested  by  the  spiral  rib  of  Tee,  was  constructed  of  a 
spiral  coil  of  fir-root  fibers  bound  to  its  adjacent  coil  below  by  a  single 
strand  of  the  same  material  catching  in  the  lower  coil  fibers  or  the 
tops  of  its  lacings.     This  method,  the  Protean  Shibu,  developed  and 
considered  by  other  California  Indians,  notably  Yokut,  as  the  acme 
of  art,  has  long  since  been  discarded  by  the  Porno  as  inadequate  to  the 
demands  of  even  close  weaving  and  pattern.     However,  it  proved  the 
coil  to  be  practicable  and  from  it  evolved  Tsai. 

9.  In  the  Tsai  (bam-cha,  one  rib)  or  single-rod  coiled  basketry  the 
foundation  is  a  single  willow  shoot  of  uniform  thickness  throughout, 
seasoned  and  smoothed,  spiraling  from  base  to  rim  and  sewed  down 
with  narrow  splints  of  various  materials.     Two  rods  are  inclosed  in 
each  stitch  which  passes  beneath  the  rib  of  the  previous  turn,  the 
stitches  interlocking.     This  structure  is  quite  light  and  elegant,  per 
mitting  the  most  delicate  treatment,  both  in  stitch  and  pattern.    Speci 
mens  frequently  average  60  stitches  to  the  linear  inch.     (See  fig.  46.) 

10.  Baumko  is  the  Porno  name  for  coiled  basketry  on  a  foundation 
of  two  stems,  one  above  the  other.     It  is  an  economical  method  of 
work,  for  it  widens  the  coil  and  to  that  extent  diminishes  the  amount 
of  sewing.     (See  fig.  47.) 

11.  Bamshibu  or  bamtsuwu  (tsu-ba,  three)  consists  of  a  three-rod 
warp  or  coil  bound  down  by  its  lacings,  catching  in  the  lacings  and 
one  stem  of  the  next  lower  coil.     This  is  justly  regarded  by  the  Porno 
as  the  highest  type  of  basket  art.     Its  materials  require  the  most  care 
ful  tests  of  evenness,  pliability,  and  color.     The  legitimate  function  of 
treble  ribs  besides  solidity  is  its  adaptability  for  retaining  the  bulbs 
of  feathers,  and  was  doubtless  created  by  an  incentive  for  this  rich 
ornamentation.     Comparison  with  other  styles  of  work  reveals  the 
fact  that  by  reason  of  fine  material  and  pressing  together  of  the  stitches 
the   sewing   conceals   the   foundation,  while   in  the  varieties  before 
mentioned  the  latter  is  visible  between  the  stitches.     (See  fig.  50.) 

12.  Bamteck  is  scarcely  to  be  looked  upon  as  a  separate  style  of 
weaving.     It  is  simply  a  variety  of  No.  11.     The  manipulation  of  the 
stitches  is  precisely  the  same  in  both. 

„  13.  Tsawam.  This  is  an  application  of  the  backward  and  forward 
braiding  or  false  braiding  found  on  the  margins  of  many  baskets  and 
described  in  the  proper  place  in  this  work.  The  rods  of  the  cradle 
are  held  together  by  a  coarse  cotton  string  obtained  from  the  traders, 
formerly,  no  doubt,  made  of  splint.  Carried  across  the  warp  rods  the 
weft  material  passes  forward  four,  backward  two,  right;  forward 
four,  backward  two,  left — and  so,  alternately  backward  to  the  right 
or  left,  forms  a  very  neat  braid  on  one  side  of  the  basket,  and  what 
looks  like  two  rows  of  twined  weaving  on  the  other. 

The  making  of  a  fine  coiled  basket  requires  an  infinite  amount  of 
patience.     The  rootstocks  carefully  gathered  during  the  summer  and 


458 


REPORT    OF   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,   1902. 


early  autumn  are  split  into  fine  strands  for  direct  use.  At  Round 
Valley  the  process  is  as  follows:  The  rootstocks,  denuded  of  their  outer 
coverings,  are  thoroughly  soaked  in  warm  water,  and  one  end  of  a  root 
is  divided  through  the  center,  by  means  of  the  finger  nails,  into  three 
parts.  One  of  these  parts  is  held  firmly  between  the  teeth,  while,  by 
means  of  the  lingers,  the  whole  root  is  carefully  and  very  evenly  split 
into  three  sections.  Each  of  these  sections  is  again  separated  into 
three  parts  in  the  same  manner,  and  the  same  process  is  carried  out 
until  the  strands  are  as  fine  as  ma}7  be  desired,  the  value  of  the  basket 


FIG.  165. 
TINY  COILED  BASKET. 

Porno  Indians. 
Collected  by  C.  P.  Wileomb. 


depending  in  great  measure  upon  the  fineness  of  the  strands  used  as 
well  as  the  general  beauty  of  the  finished  fabric.  These  strands  are 
used  not  like  those  from  the  pine  root  in  twined  work,  but  for  thread 
for  sewing  coiled  ware,  in  beginning  the  basket,  three  very  pliant 
stems  are  so  selected  that  when  placed  together  their  combined  cross 
sections  will  be  nearly  circular.  The  use  of  three  "sticks"  instead  of 
one,  as  is  sometimes  the  case  in  less  costly  baskets,  gives  much  more 
elasticity  and  greater  strength  to  the  basket.  The  strand  is  wrapped 
tightly  about  one  end  of  the  compound  withe,  and  as  the  wrapping 


FIG.  166. 

TINY  COILED   BASKET. 

Porno  Indians. 
Collected  by  C.  P.  Wilcomh. 


progresses,  the  wand  is  bent  into  a  minute  circle;  the  central  hole  is 
filled  in  by  stitching  over  and  over  again,  and  with  this  as  a  basis  the 
little  plaque  is  gradually  built  up  by  coiling.  The  general  shape  and 
plan  of  the  basket  must  necessarily  be  carried  in  mind,  for  there  is  no 
skeleton  to  serve  as  a  guide.  Infinite  care  must  therefore  be  exer 
cised,  not  only  in  preserving  the  symmetry  of  shape,  but  also  the 
symmetry  of  the  designs  which  are  worked  in  with  the  black  and  white 
strands.  It  requires  many  months,  sometimes  years,  of  leisure  work 
to  complete  a  first-class  basket.  Some  of  'the  very  best  are  more  or 
less  individual  in  their  shape  and  pattern.  (Chesnut.) 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


459 


Fig.  165  is  a  coiled  basket  of  the  Porno  Indians  (Kulanapan  family) 
in  a  style  of  sewing  called  Bamshibu.  The  foundation  consists  of 
three  stems  or  rods.  The  stitches  pass  over  the  foundation  and  inter 
lock  with  those  underneath,  giving  a  ribbed  appearance  to  the  fabric. 
This  tiny  object  is  a  little  over  one-half  an  inch  in  diameter  and  passes 
easily  through  a  lady's  linger  ring.  In  the  foundation,  the  uniform 
width  of  the  coil  and  of  the  stitches,  and  the  neatness  of  the  sewing, 
it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  more  charming  piece  of  Indian  handi 
work. 

Fig.  166  is  a  coiled  basket  of  the  Porno  Indians  in  a  style  of  weaving 
called  tsai,  in  which  a  single  rod  is  used  for  the  foundation,  the 


FIG.  167. 

COILED  BASKET. 

Hoochnom  Indians,  California. 

Cat.  No.  21371.  U.S.N.M.    Collected  by  Stephen  Powers 


stitches  passing  both  over  the  rod  of  the  course  in  progress  and  under 
the  rod  of  the  foundation  of  the  course  beneath.  These  small  pieces 
represent  fairly  the  best  Porno  workmanship. 

These  two  baskets  are  in  the  collection  of  C.  P.  Wilcomb,  curator 
of  the  Golden  Gate  Park  Museum,  San  Francisco,  California,  and  were 
made  under  his  supervision. 

Fig.  167  is  a  coiled  basket  of  the  Hoochnom  Indians,  Yukian  fam 
ily.  It  is  made  in  a  style  of  coiled  weaving  called  rod  and  welt.  In 
this  method  one  or  two  small  rods  or  stems  of  uniform  thickness  con 
stitute  the  body  or  foundation  of  the  coil.  Over  this  is  laid  a  thin 
filament  or  strip  of  material,  and  the  stitches  of  each  coil  pass  over 
the  foundation,  under  the  splint,  and  interlock.  The  work  of  the 
Hoochnom  Indians  is  of  excellent  character,  the  coils  about  the  same 
width  of  the  number  of  stitches  to  the  inch,  uniform.  In  the  example 


460 


REPORT    OF   NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 


FIG.  168. 
DETAIL  OF  FIG.  167. 


here  shown  the  coils  are  one-eighth  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  there 
are  twenty  stitches  to  the  inch.  The  ornamentation  appears  to  be  the 
usual  California  combination  of  mountain  and  coil  plume.  The  use  of 
light  and  dark  filaments  and  the  alternation  of  triangles  and  rectangles 
on  the  two  sides  of  the  open  space  form  a  very  attractive  ornament. 
The  use  of  shell  disks  improves  the  appearance  of  the  object.  Feathers 

are  also  employed  on  some  speci 
mens  from  this  locality. 

A  square  inch  shown  in  fig.  168 
illustrates  more  definitely  the  de 
scription  here  given. 

This  specimen,  Catalogue  No. 
21371  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum, 
was  procured  in  Eel  River,  Califor 
nia,  by  Stephen  Powers. 

Leaving  the  west  coast  peoples, 
the  next  group  of  basket  makers 
will  be  found  in  the  Oregon  tribes 
belonging  to  the  Lutuamian  family, 
namely,  the  Klamath  and  Modocs, 
and  the  Shastas,  also  various  bands 
of  Wintun  belonging  to  the  Copehan  family.  The  basket  work  of 
this  middle  region  is  largely  twined  work  with  overlaying.  The 
designs  have  been  studied  by  Roland  B.  Dixon  and  will  be  found 
illustrated  in  Plates  18  to  24  in  his  paper  on  the  basket  designs  of 
northern  Calif ornia/'  In  the  work  here  mentioned  it  is  interesting 
to  find  that  the  movement  has  been  eastward,  for  quite  a  number  of 
these  specimens  figured  as  Maidu  are  very  surely  made  under  the 
influence  of  tribes  here  mentioned. 

The  Klamath  Indians  have  their  home  upon  the  Little  and  Upper 
Klamath  Lake,  Klamath  Marsh,  and  Sprague  River,  Oregon.  Their 
name  in  their  own  language  is  E-ukshikrii  (Klamath  Lake  people). 
The  Modoc  are  termed  by  the  Klamath  Modokni  (southern  people).6 

Fig.  109  is  a  twined  flexible  basket  of  the  Klamath  Indians.  The 
body  is  in  plain  twined  weaving;  the  three  elevated  bands  on  the  out 
side  are  in  three-ply  twined  weaving,  the  effect  being  that  of  hoops 
placed  on  wooden  vessels  for  the  purpose  of  strengthening  them  and 
is  very  pleasing.  By  choosing  straws  or  stems  of  different  plants  for 
these  three-ply  bands  the  artistic  impression  is  heightened.  By  twin 
ing  dark  and  light  colored  straws  in  the  texture  and  by  varying  the 
number  of  monochrome  or  dichrome  twines,  charming  effects  in  endless 
variety  may  be  produced. 

a  Bulletin  of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  XVII,  pp.  1-32. 
&  J.  W.  Powell,  Indian  Linguistic  Families,  Seventh  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau 
of  American  Ethnology,  Washington,  1891,  pp.  1-142. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


461 


A  square  inch  shown  in  fig.  170  makes  clear  the  manner  in  which 
the  plain  twined  and  three-ply  twine  may  be  combined  and  also  that 
of  using  different  colored  materials.  The  rows  in  both  cases,  however, 
are  monochrome.  If  the  alternate  meshes  were  dark  and  light,  the 
beauty  would  be  enhanced.  The  using  of  dichrome  twine  is  rather 
limited  to  this  particular  area — northern  California  and  southern  Oregon. 

This  specimen.  Catalogue  No.  24124  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum, 
was  procured  in  Oregon  by  L.  S.  Dyar. 


FIG.  169. 

TWINED  BASKET  BOWL. 

Klamath  Indians,  Oregon. 

Cat.  No.  24124,  U.S.N.M.    Collected  by  L.  S.  Dyar. 

The    following    names  for  baskets  were    collected  from  the  Hot 
Spring  Valley  Indians,  Modoc  County,  California: 

Indian  name  Basket  work 

Doch  jam' ii ^Papoose  basket. 

Po  In7  hi Boat  shaped,  used  to  hold  trinkets  and  small  articles. 

Bit  pox  kii Storage  basket,  also  used  for  cooking,  also  applied  to  any  basket 

where  the  top  curves  in  toward  the  center. 

Shute'  pii Soft  plaque  used  for  gambling  and  winnowing. 

Tii  wi  y'a Hard  plaque  used  for  gambling  and  winnowing. 

Clowa/ Coarse  basket  with  hole  in  bottom  for  grinding  meal. 

De  le'  ma  che Cone-shaped  burden  basket. 

Shu7  wii Squaw's  cap. 

Da  lur  ti  a Coil  weave.     A  coiled  weave  storage  basket  is  called  dalutia 

bapoka  and  is  greatly  prized,  also  the  plaques  in  dalutia  weave. 


462  REPOKT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

Plate  174  represents  two  Klamath  Indian  baskets  in  the  collection 
of  Dr.  C.  Hart  Merriam.  The  interesting  feature  in  them  is  that  the 
entire  structure  is  in  three-strand  twined  work.  The  border  resembles 
closely  one  of  the  simplest  among  the  Tlinkits,  namely,  the  warp 
strands  are  turned  down  and  held  in  place  by  a  row  of  twined  weaving. 
All  the  Indians  of  this  area  practice  the  three-strand  wT>rk,  but  do 

not  cover  the  whole  basket  with  it. 
This  weave  is  reserved  for  strength 
ening  weak  places  and  for  ornament. 
It  has  the  disadvantage  of  being 
wasteful  of  material. 

South  of  the  Klamath  and  Modoc 
tribes  and  closely  associated  with 
them  live  the  Shasta  Indians  (Sastean 
family,  formerly  on  the  Klamath 
River  from  Bogus  Creek  to  Scott 
River;  on  the  Shasta  River,  Little 
Shasta  and  Yuka  Creek;  and  in  Scott 
Valley,  to  which  has  been  added  the 
FlG<  17°-  Upper  Salmon  and  a  part  of  Rogue 

DETAIL  OF  FIG.  169.  -r, .  '       r\  CU         I.  T) 

River  in  Oregon).     Stephen  Powers 

commends  the  strength  and  beauty  of  the  Shasta  women.  With  their 
basket  hats  fitting  tight  on  their  round  heads  and  walking  with  a 
grenadier  stride,  they  present  quite  an  Amazonian  appearance/'  The 
specimens  of  Shasta  Indian  baskets  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  are 
not  to  be  distinguished  fundamentally  from  those  just  described. 
They  are  in  twined  weaving  with  overlaying  in  straw.  Their  special 
marks  are  in  the  designs  or  symbols. 6 

Plate  175,  top  figure,  represents  a  twined  basket  of  the  Pit  River 
Indians,  Copehan  family,  in  Shasta  County,  California.  In  Dixon's 
paper  precisely  the  same  symbols  are  seen  on  a  basket  labeled  Yanan 
(Plate  25).  The  warp  and  weft  on  the  bottom  are  of  some  kind  of  rush. 
The  weft  on  the  body  is  in  stems  of  the  squaw  grass.  There  are 
twelve  twists  and  twenty  rows  of  twined  weaving  to  the  inch.  The 
color  of  the  body  is  a  beautiful  old  gold  produced  by  age.  The  orna 
mentation  is  in  three  sets  of  three  rhombs,  each  done  in  black  material, 
perhaps  fern  stems.  Crosses  and  diamond  patterns  are  employed  to 


«  Powers,  Contributions  to  North  American  Ethnology,  III,  Chap.  XXVI. 

^Shastas,  Rogue  Rivers,  and  Calapooya  tribes  on  Grand  Ronde  and  Siletz  Res 
ervations,  Oregon,  make  excellent  openwork  twined  baskets  from  hazel  (Corylus 
californica)  sticks  cut  in  May,  peeled.  Those  cut  in  autumn  are  toasted,  then  soaked 
and  peeled.  Charming  effects  are  produced  in  the  seasoning  of  the  wood.  Rarely 
stems  dyed  black  by  soaking  them  in  mud  are  used  in  weaving.  Besides  the  old- 
time  plaques,  baby  frames,  and  conical  burden  baskets,  the  latest  willow  ware  is 
being  freely  imitated  in  hazel  for  ail  domestic  and  industrial  uses.— MKS.  HARRIET 

McARTHUK. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  463 

decorate  the  centers.  The  margin  is  formed  by  braiding  down  the 
unused  warp  stems.  Height  is  3i  inches;  diameter  5J  inches.  Cata 
logue  No.  19283.  Collected  by  Livingston  Stone. 

The  middle  figure  is  said  to  have  been  made  by  the  Pit  River  Indians, 
the  warp  and  bottom  being  in  soft  rushes.  The  weft  of  the  body  is 
in  strips  of  rushes  over  which  thin  filaments  of  squaw  grass  have  been 
wound.  The  delicate  figures  are  in  black  fern  stems.  Design,  lizard's 
feet,  three  in  number,  with  festoons  of  short  lines  between.  The 
border  is  formed  by  braiding  down  the  ends  of  the  warp  and  holding 
them  in  place  by  a  row  of  twined  weaving.  This  is  a  very  common 
method  of  treatment  throughout  this  country.  Its  height  is  3  inches 
and  diameter  5£  inches.  Catalogue  No.  204910,  U.  S.  National  Museum. 
Collected  by  Harry  F.  Liston. 

The  lower  figure  represents  a  basket  from  the  McCloud  River 
Indians,  Copehan  family.  The  warp  is  in  small  rods,  perhaps  of  hazel. 
The  weft  in  twisted  root  of  dark  brown  color.  The  first  few  rows  of 
twining,  and  here  and  there  another  row  around  the  bottom,  are  in 
three-strand,  the  rest  in  double  twining.  The  body  is  in  the  same  brown 
material  wrapped  with  squaw  grass,  the  figures  showing  on  both  sides. 
The  ornamentation  consists  of  four  rows  of  double  rhombs  in  black 
fern  and  one  single  row.  Around  the  bottom  is  a  double  row  in  two 
colors.  The  border  is  finished  in  one  row  of  three-strand  twine  weav 
ing,  the  ends  of  the  warp  showing.  Its  height  is  4£  inches  and  its 
diameter  5  inches.  Catalogue  No.  19349,  U.  S.  National  Museum. 
Collected  by  Livingston  Stone. 

Fig.  171  is  a  carrying  basket  of  the  McCloud  RiveT  Indians,  Copehan 
family.  The  tribes  of  this  family  are  described  by  Powers  under  the 
general  name  of  Win  tun.  Those  living  on  the  McCloud  Fork  are 
named  Winnimin,  the  meaning  of  which  term  is  North  River.  The 
similarity  of  the  McCloud  River  basketry  with  that  of  the  Pit  River 
people  will  be  apparent.  The  technic,  poorly  shown,  is  in  twined 
weaving  with  a  foundation  of  stems.  The  noticeable  feature  is  the 
overlaying  of  the  filaments  with  grass  stems  or  fern  stems  to  produce 
the  ornamentation.  The  strength  of  the  basket  is  in  the  weaving. 
The  bottom  is  cup-shaped,  and  for  3  or  4  inches  is  in  three-strand 
twined  weaving.  The  rest  of  the  workmanship  is  in  the  ordinary 
two-strand  twine.  In  order  to  strengthen  the  basket  a  coil  of  rods  is 
sewed  around  the  bottom  for  about  a  foot.  The  border  is  a  strong 
hoop  attached  to  the  warp  sterns  by  bending  down  the  latter  and 
sewing  them  in  place  with  splints,  forming  a  single  row  of  coiled 
work.  The  overlaying  passes  to  the  inside,  so  that  the  figures  are 
the  same  without  and  within  the  basket.  On  the  body  the  rhomboid 
figures  forming  triangular  ornaments  are  named  in  Mr.  Dixon's  paper 
u  leaves  strung  along." 

Plate  176,  Catalogue  Nos.  19297  and  19281  in  the  U.  S.  National 


464  EEPOET    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

Museum  are  labeled  McCloud  River  Indian  baskets.  They  were  col 
lected  by  the  superintendent  of  the  United  States  fish -hatching  estab 
lishment  in  northern  California  many  years  ago  and  doubtless  were 
procured  from  the  McCloud  River  Indians. 

The  upper  figure  is  an  example  of  two-colored  design  in  plain  twined 
weaving  by  simply  hiding  every  alternate  twist  of  the  weft  strands. 
The  lower  figure  is  made  in  the  same  fashion  with  broken  bands  in  two 
colors,  brown  and  yellow,  but  the  border  is  finished  off  by  bending 
down  the  warp  stems  and  sewing  with  thread. 

Plates  177-178,  show  the  work  of  the  Hat  Creek  Indians,  Pakamalli, 
who  live  on  Hat  Creek,  a  branch  of  Pit  River  in  northeastern  Cali- 


FIG.  171. 

CARRYING  BASKET. 

McCloud  River  Indians,  California. 

Cat.  No.  19290,  U.S.N.M.    Collected  by  Livingston  Stone. 

fornia.  They  belong  to  the  Palaihnihan  family,  which  Mr.  Gatschet 
believes  to  be  related  to  the  Sastean  or  Shasta  tribes.  Dixon  (1902) 
places  the  basketry  of  these  tribes  ip  his  northeastern  group  of  Cali 
fornia  tribes  associated  with  the  Klamath  and  Modoc  (Lutuamian), 
Shastas  (Sastean,  but  probably  Palaihnihan),  Pit  Rivers  (Palaihnihan), 
Yana  (Yanan),  Wintun  (Copehan),  and  Maidu  (Pujunan).  Powers0 
characterizes  the  Hat  Creek  Indians  as  the  most  warlike  in  all  the  Pit 
River  Basin,  and  the  one  most  dreaded  by  the  timid  aborigines  of  the 
Sacramento  Valley.  These  specimens  are  in  the  collection  of  H.  E. 
Williams. 


«  Contributions  to  North  American  Ethnology,  III,  1877,  p.  274. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  465 

The  eastern  portion  of  northern  California,  as  before  mentioned,  is 
largely  divided  between  the  Palaihnihan,  Yanan,  and  Pujunan  linguistic 
families.  It  might  be  easily  supposed  by  one  who  had  no  knowledge 
on  the  subject  whatever,  that  the  coiled  basketry  of  the  interior  basin 
would  obtrude  itself  here  and  either  push  backward  the  tribes  making 
twined  work,  or  at  least  the  latter  would  be  forced  to  a  very  subordi 
nate  position.  Dr.  Roland  B.  Dixon  has  published  in  the  American 
Anthropologist,  but  more  extensively  in  the  Bulletin  of  the  American 
Museum  of  Natural  History, a  the  result  of  accurate  studies  in  the 
basketry  of  the  eastern  tribes.  The  most  extensive  researches  of  Dr. 
Dixon  are  on  the  basketry  of  the  Maidu  Indians  described  by  Powers. 
On  Powell's  linguistic  map  these  Indians  are  assigned  to  the  Pujunan 
family.  Their  country  lies  east,  of  the  Sacramento  River  and  extends 
as  far  as  the  Nevada  line,  stretching  north  and  south  from  the  southern 
line  of  Lassen  and  Tehama  counties  to  the  Consumne  River.  A  number 
of  examples  of  Maidu  basketry  have  already  been  described,  and  illus 
trated  in  Plates  56  and  5T.  The  specimens  are  in  the  U.  S.  National 
Museum. 

ThjB  body  is  either  in  splints  of  willow  or  other  wood  and  a  species 
of  root.  At  the  time  of  this  writing  Mr.  Coville  was  not  quite  sure  as 
to  the  species  employed.  The  designs  on  the  body  of  the  basket  are 
in  the  splints  of  Cercis  occidentalis,  the  bark  and  young  shoots  remain 
ing  in  place.  An  inspection  of  a  number  of  Maidu  baskets  together 
leaves  the  impression  of  distinct  individuality.  They  belong  to  the 
three-rod  variety  of  coiled  weaving  and  the  sewing  passes  over  the 
foundation,  under  one  of  the  rods  of  the  foundation  beneath,  the  stitches 
interlocking.  Frequently  on  the  inside  they  split,  which  enables  the 
sewer  to  give  each  stitch  on  the  outer  surface  a  vertical  position.  The 
material  used  in  the  sewing  is  hard  and  is  not  driven  tight  home,  each 
stitch  being  wide  below  and  narrow  above.  After  a  study  of  one  of 
these  specimens,  its  colors  and  patterns,  the  investigator  will  have  no 
trouble  afterwards  in  identifying  a  Maidu  basket. 

Dr.  Dixon,  who  has  given  most  attention  to  the  lore  in  Maidu  bas 
kets,  divides  the  symbols  into  three  classes,  namely:  Natural  designs, 
plant  designs,  and  those  representing  natural  or  artificial  objects.  His 
plates  1  to  17  are  devoted  exclusively  to  Maidu  basketry.  Among 
them  will  be  seen  a  few  in  twined  weaving,  principally  conical  burden 
baskets.  A  comparison  of  these  among  themselves  and  also  those  of 
the  Pit  River  Indians  and  tribes  living  in  the  Sacramento  Valley  indi 
cate  acculturation  of  some  kind,  borrowing  ideas,  or  may  be  women, 
ideas  and  all.  A  number  of  Maidu  baskets  in  the  U.  S.  National 
Museum  were  collected  by  W.  H.  Holmes. 

A  suggestion  might  be  made  in  this  connection  that  the  so-called 

«Vol.  XVII,  pp.  1-32, 
NAT  MUS  1902 30 


466  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

feather  design  on  the  Dixon  baskets a  ma}T  be  those  on  arrows,  which 
in  some  California  tribes  are  notched.  This  is  only  a  suggestion.  One 
of  Dixon's  most  intricate  feather  patterns  has  narrow  lines  between, 
resembling  the  letter  H,  which  might  be  either  the  rib  of  the  feathers 
or  the  owner's  mark  on  the  shaftment  of  the  arrow.  The  association 
of  this  notched  half  feather  design  with  the  symbol  for  arrow  points 
would  be  in  harmony  with  this  view.  No  other  artificial  object  enters 
so  profoundly  into  Indian  art,  gaming,  lore,  and  ceremony. 

On  the  map  of  California,  covering  a  small  spot  at  the  angle  of  the 
eastern  border,  are  the  Washoc  Indians  (Washoan  family).  They 
extend  into  the  parts  of  Nevada  adjoining,  occupying  the  mountain 
region  in  the  extreme  western  portion  of  the  State  about  Washoe  and 
Tahoe  lakes  and  the  towns  of  Carson  and  Virginia  City.  They  for 
merly  extended  farther  east  and  south,  but  were  driven  back  by  the 
Paiute,  who  conquered  them  and  reduced  them  to  complete  subjec 
tion.  Their  basketry  is  the  same  general  type  as  the  Maidu,  just 
north,  but  in  execution  it  is  far  above.  The  material  is  willow, 
Datill-yah-wee;  the  brown  or  reddish  tint  is  that  of  the  bark  of  moun 
tain  birch  (Gercis  occidentalis),  Et-ba-sha,  and  the  black  is  from  the 
root  of  a  mountain  brake  (Pteridium  aquilinum],  mes-a-weg-a-see,  all  of 
lasting  qualit}^  and  they  acquire  with  age  a  richness  that  makes  them 
incomparable.  The  sewing  is  faultless.  Stitch  after  stitch,  over  and 
over,  increases  in  width  and  length  with  the  swelling  and  shrinking  of 
the  basket  like  a  harmony  in  music.  The  form  of  the  specimen  is 
charming,  and  the  ornamentation  ideal.  The  recognition  of  worth  in 
the  Washoe  basketmaker  is  encouraging,  for  the  price  of  a  few  pieces 
reaches  into  the  thousands  of  dollars.  The  author  heartily  acknowl 
edges  the  aid  of  Mrs.  A.  Cohn,  of  Carson  City,  Nevada,  for  information 
about  the  Washoes  and  for  photographs. 

The  tiny  Washoe  offering  or  gift  basket  (Sing-aru-mi),  when  used 
to  propitiate  the  harvest  spirit,  is  filled  with  choicest  grain  or  seeds 
or  acorns  from  the  last  crop  to  insure  a  future  good  harvest.  One  or 
two  of  the  large  storing  or  household  baskets  (Da-gee-coop)  will  hold 
the  winter  supply  of  grain  or  nuts.  The  flat  cradles  (Bicose-modi- 
mi-odi)  are  for  the  papooses  (now-gung).  If  the  child's  father  is  a 
famous  brave  or  chief,  the  basket  is  covered  with  buckskin  and  gaily 
decorated  with  beads,  trinkets,  tasseled  fringes,  or  feathers.  The 
ornamentation  of  the  little  sheltering  cover  for  the  head  tells  the  sex 
of  the  occupant.6 

Plate  179  represents  three  basket  bowls  in  the  U.  S.  National 
Museum  labeled  Washoe.  They  all  show  the  characteristics  of  uni 
formity  and  plain  ornamentation  referred  to.  The  lowest  in  the  series 
has  also  a  margin  of  feather  work  which  allies  it  with  the  type  of  the 

«  American  Anthropologist,  April-June,  1900,  pp.  266-276. 
&  Clara  MacNaughton,  Out  West,  XVIII,  1903,  p.  438. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  467 

tribes  farther  west.  Catalogue  Nos.  204846,  36244,  35435,  U.  S. 
National  Museum. 

Plate  180  is  one  of  the  best  specimens  in  Mrs.  A.  Cohn's  collection 
in  Carson  City,  Nevada.  The  symbol  on  the  surface  is  a  collection  of 
points  meaning  "clear  skies,  good  weather."  Mrs.  Cohn  finds  varia 
tions  in  these,  the  number  of  points  ranging  from  three  to  seven.  In 
some  examples  they  are  contiguous;  in  others  separated  by  narrow 
spaces. 

Plate  181  is  a  picture  of  Datsolallee,  the  maker  of  the  finest 
specimens  of  Washoe  basketry.  She  is  holding  in  her  left  hand  the 
bowed  stick  in  shape  of  a  racquet,  with  which  hot  stones  are  taken 
from  the  fire  to  be  placed  in  the  basket  of  mush  in  order  to  cook 
it.  The  s}Tmbols  shown  on  the  various  baskets  at  her  feet  represent 
men,  women,  snakes,  arrows,  wind,  weather  symptoms,  morning,  and 
migrating. 

Plate  182,  upper  figure,  shows  a  basket  bowl  of  the  Washoe  Indians, 
collected  by  Eugene  Mead.  The  foundation  is  the  three-rod  style  in 
willow.  The  sewing  is  done  in  splints  of  the  same  material.  The 
ornamentation  on  the  bottom  is  a  many  pointed  star  in  brown  cercis. 
On  the  body  there  are  three  circles  made  up  of  isosceles  triangles  in 
the  same.  Two  of  the  rows  on  the  body  of  the  basket  are  so  arranged 
as  to  have  a  narrow  belt  of  white  between  them,  the  points  of  one 
being  downward  and  the  other  upward.  This  form  of  ornamentation 
is  suggestive  of  the  patterns  on  the  sewed  coils  of  the  Navaho  basket 
bowls.  The  border  is  plain  coiled  sewing.  Its  diameter  is  8f  inches, 
and  height  31  inches. 

Plate  182,  lower  figure,  is  a  basket  bowl,  Catalogue  No.  204852, 
U.  S.  National  Museum,  coiled  work  from  Inyo  County,  California, 
tribe  not  positively  known.  There  are  four  sets  of  ornamentation  on 
the  side  in  step  pattern  in  threes,  done  in  sewing  splints  dyed  black. 
The  most  interesting  feature  of  the  basket  is  the  border,  which  is  in 
false  braid,  made  of  a  single  splint  wrapped  over  the  upper  founda 
tion,  forward,  under,  and  back,  over  again  and  down  beneath  the  two 
foundation  rows,  making  a  figure  8. 

The  southern  portion  of  the  Oregon-California  basket  area  is 
bounded  on  the  west  by  the  Pacific  Ocean  and  there  was  little  encour 
agement  to  venture  beyond  the  shore  line  except  in  San  Francisco  Bay 
and  around  the  Santa  Barbara  Islands.  On  the  north  of  it  are  the 
Maidu,  Copehan,  and  the  Yukian  families.  On  the  south  and  forming 
a  part  of  the  subarea  itself  are  the  Missions,  some  of  which  belong  to 
the  Yuman  family,  the  southern  boundary  of  the  area.  The  great 
Shoshonean  family  has  pushed  across  the  drainage  of  the  interior 
basin  to  the  coast  at  Santa  Barbara.  This  southern  region  is  a  long 
rectangle  inclined  toward  the  west.  Its  axis  would  be  a  meridian 
through  diagonal  corners.  The  eastern  portion  is  Shoshonean  terri- 


468  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

tory.  The  western  portion  belongs  to  the  following-  linguistic  families: 
Moquelumnan,  Costanoan,  Mariposan,  Esselenan,  Salman,  and  Chu- 
mashan.  Along  the  median  line  of  this  subarea  are  Mono,  Fresno, 
Inyo,  Tulare,  and  Kern  counties — another  basketry  Caucasus  or  Babel. 
(See  fig.  103.) 

Those  who  have  made  collections  from  this  part  of  California  will 
bear  witness  that  the  exchanging  of  baskets  and  of  women  who  make 
baskets  from  stock  to  stock  has  rendered  it  almost  impossible  to 
identify  forms  ethnically.  Here  blood  and  speech  and  industry  are 
apt  to  be  confounded.  At  least,  it  is  too  early  in  the  investigation  to 
be  positive  on  the  subject. 

Another  difficulty  arises  in  this  study  from  the  fact  that  language 
groups,  tribal  names,  and  county  names  are  also  mixed  up.  For  in 
stance,  a  basket  may  be  called  Tulare  because  it  was  purchased  in  that 
county  of  California,  having  no  reference  to  the  Indian  tribe.  A 
specimen  made  by  the  same  woman  wrill  bear  the  name  of  the  tribe  of 
which  she  is  a  member.  Still  another  one  of  her  productions  might 
be  called  from  the  group  of  languages  to  which  her  own  belongs.  At 
present  the  confusion  extends  beyond  form  and  design  to  the  sub 
stances  and  technical  processes.  The  author  acknowledges  his  obliga 
tions  to  E.  L.  McLcod,  of  Bakersneld;  C.  P.  Wilcomb,  of  Golden 
Gate  Park  Museum,  and  Dr.  C.  Hart  Merriam,  of  Washington,  for 
the  information  here  given.  Each  of  these  has  given  most  careful 
study  to  this  cosmopolitan  basket  region.  Dr.  Merriam  has  devoted 
special  attention  to  the  plants  used." 

Of  this  ware  Dr.  Merriam  says  that  most  of  the  coiled  baskets  made 
by  the  Indians  inhabiting  the  lower  slopes  of  the  Sierra  from  Fresno 
River  south  to  the  Kern  are  celebrated  for  excellence  of  workmanship, 
beauty  of  form,  elegance  of  design,  and  richness  of  material,  which 
differs  in  tone  and  texture  from  that  used  by  the  tribes  north  and 
south  of  the  region  indicated.  When  fresh,  its  color  is  brownish  buff; 
with  age  it  becomes  darker  and  richer.  By  careful  selection  a  hand 
some  dappled  effect  is  produced.  It  is  made  from  the  root  of  a  marsh 
plant  which  the  Indians  traveled  long  distances  to  procure,  identified 
by  Miss  Alice  Eastwood,  botanist  of  the  California  Academy  of  Sci 
ences,  as  Cladium  mariscus.  The  foundation  consists  of  a  bundle  of 
stems  of  a  yellow  grass,  Epicampes  rigens.  The  black  in  the  design 
is  the  root  of  the  "bracken"  or  "brake  fern,"  Pteridium  aquilinum. 
The  red  is  usually  split  branches  of  the  redbud,  Cere  is  occidentalis, 
with  the  bark  on,  gathered  after  the  fall  rains,  when  the  bark  is  red. 
The  tribes  making  the  Cladium  baskets  are  the  Nims,  Chukchancys, 
Cocahebas,  Wuksaches,  Wiktchumnes,  Tulares,  and  perhaps  one  or 


«  It  is  too  early  to  complete  a  plant  synonymy  for  the  Inyo-Kern  and  Tulare  bas 
ketry.  The  list  of  Coville  (pp.  199-214  of 'this  paper)  and  the  following  paragraphs 
from  Merriam  will  be  helpful. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  469 

two  others.  Besides  these,  the  root  is  sometimes  used  by  certain 
squaws  of  the  Mewah  tribe  living  north  of  the  Fresno  and  by  the 
Pakanepull  and  Newooah  tribes  living  south  of  the  Kern;  but  among 
these  its  use  is  exceptional. 

Another  material  which  has  proved  a  stumbling-block  to  collectors 
is  the  rejd  of  the  design  in  the  handsome  baskets  made  by  the  Kern 
Valley,  Newooah,  and  Panamint  Shoshone  Indians.  This  material  is 
often  called  cactus  root.  It  is  the  unpeeled  root  of  the  tree  yucca 
( Yucca  arborescent},  which  grows  in  the  higher  parts  of  the  Mohave 
Desert,  pushes  over  Walker  Pass,  and  reaches  down  into  the  upper 
part  of  the  valley  of  South  Fork  of  Kern.  The  so-called  Tejon  Indians 
obtain  it  in  Antelope  Valley,  at  the  extreme  west  end  of  the  Mohave 
Desert.  The  yucca  root  varies  considerably  in  depth  of  color,  so  that 
by  careful  selection  some  of  the  Indian  women  produce  beautiful 
shaded  effects  and  definite  pattern  contrasts. 

Some  of  the  Panamint  Shoshones  inhabiting  the  desolate  desert 
region  between  Owens  Lake  and  Death  Valley  use,  either  in  combina 
tion  with  the  yucca  root  or  independently,  the  bright- red  shafts  of  the 
wing  and  tail  feathers  of  a  Avoodpecker — the  red-shafted  nicker, 
Colaptes  cafe?  collaris.  These  same  Indians  use  two  widely  different 
materials  for  their  black  designs — the  split  seed  pods  of  the  devil's 
horn,  Martynia,  and  the  root  of  a  marsh  bulrush,  Scirpus.  The  Mar- 
tynia  is  a  relatively  coarse  material,  and  when  properly  selected  yields 
a  dead  black.  The  Scirpus  root  is  a  fine,  delicate  material,  which,  by 
burying  in  wet  ashes,  is  made  to  assume  several  shades  or  tones,  from 
blackish  brown  to  purplish  black,  or  even  lustrous  black. 

In  parts  of  the  Colorado  Desert  in  southeastern  California  the  Coah- 
uilla  Indians  use  split  strands  from  the  leaf  of  the  desert  palm  (Neo- 
washingtonia  Jilamentosct)  as  a  surface  material  for  their  coiled  baskets. 
The  design  is  usually  black  or  orange-brown,  and  is  a  rush  (Juncus).a 

The  following  list  gives  the  families  of  the  tribes  in  Tulare,  Kern, 
and  Inyo  counties,  using  the  plants  named  in  the  first  part  of  this 
description:  1.  Chukchan  cysChukchan  si  (Mariposan);  2.  Cocahebas; 
3.  Mewah  (Moquelumnan);  4.  Newooah;  5.  Nims;  6.  Pakanepull; 
7.  Tulares  (part  of  Olamentke  div.,  Moquelumnan);  8.  Wiktchumnes, 
Wikchumni  (Mariposan);  9.  Wuksaches,  Wiksachi  (Mariposan). 

The  elements  of  ornamentation  are  lines  direct  and  crooked,  in 
shapes  as  varied  as  the  margins  of  leaves,  and  they  might  without 
affectation  receive  the  same  names — dentate,  serrate,  sinuous,  etc. 
These  simple  lines  are  combined  in  parallels,  herring-bone,  chevrons, 
crenellations,  and  many  more  patterns.  The  triangle,  the  rectangle, 
the  rhomb,  and  the  potygon  are  used  in  great  variety.  Out  of  these 
elements  the  designs  on  this  basketry  are  separate,  concentric,  or 
radiate. 


« C.  Hart  Merriam,  Science,  May  23,  1903. 


470  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 

The  separate  designs  are,  after  all,  subservient  to  the  others.  Very 
little  of  this  ware  shows  entirely  free  and  scattered  patterns.  The 
plume  or  L-shaped,  the  white  and  colored  rectangles  associated,  the 
groups  of  marks  on  the  border,  and  chiefly  the  rectangles  in  two  colors 
with  hourglass  middle  are  most  common. 

Concentric  designs  are  narrow  or  wide  bands,  whose  middle  portion 
is  decorated  with  crooked  lines  and  geometric  figures  in  endless  variety 
of  combinations.  Most  of  the  bands  have  entire  margins,  but  project 
ing  margins  are  not  unknown.  The  most  noteworthy  is  Merriam's 
"butterfly  flight  design."  (See  Plate  194.) 

The  radial  designs  are  straight  or  spiral.  The  composition  of  each 
ray  is  a  study  in  itself.  But  a  glance  at  a  large  number  of  baskets 
from  this  central  region  shows  the  predominance  of  the  cuneate 
motive.  These  truncated  wedges  spring  out  of  a  central,  circular 
pattern  and  widen  toward  the  margin.  Their  surfaces  and  their  mar 
gins  are  seldom  entire.  The  spiral  designs  are  also  frequently  wedge- 
shaped,  but  the  manner  of  their  composition  is  of  the  greatest  interest. 
Lurking  in  them  all  is  the  stepped  motive  in  which  herringbone  or 
jagged  lines  and  simple  geometric  figures  follow  one  another  by  echelon. 
This  on  a  roundish  surface  gives  spirals  of  any  amount  of  curvature. 
By  widening  and  lengthening  the  rectangular  elements  the  wedge- 
shaped  interspaces  are  filled  with  the  spiral  pattern  and  the  whole 
surface  is  covered  with  a  single  design.  This  charming  decoration 
is  peculiar  to  the  Santa  Barbara  baskets.  (See  Plate  49.)  In  outward 
form  the  baskets  of  the  area  here  considered  vary  from  round,  flat 
gambling  mats,  through  trays  and  bowls  of  various  depths,  and  hats 
of  conical  shape,  to  narrow-mouthed  vases,  or  "bottle-necks"  as  they 
are  called.  Some  of  these  are  low  and  broad  and  closely  resemble 
the  best  of  ancient  Arizona  pottery. 

The  basketry  of  the  Panamint  Indians  (Shoshonean)  living  in  Death 
Valley,  Inyo  County,  says  Coville,  is  made  by  the  squaws  at  the  cost 
of  a  great  deal  of  time,  care,  and  skill.  The  materials  are  very  simple. 
They  consist  of  the  year-old  shoots  of  some  species  of  tough  willow, 
splints  from  8alix  lasiandra,  the  year-old  shoots  of  the  aromatic 
sumac,  Rhus  trilobata,  the  long,  black,  slender,  flexible  horns  on  the 
mature  pods  of  the  unicorn  plant,  Martynia  Louisiana,  locally  known  as 
devil  horns,  and  the  long,  red  roots  of  the  tree  yucca,  Yucca  arbor  esceiis. 
These  materials  give  three  types  of  color — that  of  the  willow  and  the 
sumac,  the  black  of  the  devil  horns,  and  the  red  of  the  yucca  roots. 
This  last  material,  although  it  has  a  strong  fiber  and  a  pretty  red  color, 
is  rarely  used,  for  it  is  too  thick  to  pack  closely  and  the  resulting 
fabric  is  full  of  interstices. 

Sumac  and  willow  are  prepared  for  use  in  the  same  way  by  the 
Panamint  Indians.  The  bark  is  removed  from  the  fresh  shoots  by 
biting  it  loose  at  the  end  and  tearing  it  off.  The  woody  portion  is 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETKY.  471 

scraped  to  remove  bud  protuberances  and  other  inequalities  of  the 
surface  and  is  then  allowed  to  dry.  These  slender  stems  serve  as 
foundation.  The  sewing  material  is  prepared  from  the  same  plants. 
A  squaw  selects  a  fresh  shoot,  breaks  off  the  too  slender  upper  por 
tion  and  bites  one  end  so  that  it  starts  to  split  into  three  nearly  equal 
parts.  Holding  one  of  these  parts  in  her  teeth  and  one  in  either  hand, 
she  pulls  them  apart,  guiding  the  splitting  with  her  fingers  so  dexter 
ously  that  the  whole  shoot  is  divided  into  three  equal  even  portions. 
Taking  one  of  these,  by  a  similar  process  she  splits  off  the  pith  and 
the  adjacent  less  flexible  tissue  from  the  inner  face,  and  the  bark  from 
the  outer,  leaving  a  pliant,  strong,  flat  strip  of  young  willow  or  sumac 
wood.  Both  stems  and  splints  may  be  dried  and  kept  for  months  and 
probably  even  for  several  years,  but  before  being  used  they  are  always 
soaked  in  water. 

The  pack  baskets  and  some,  at  least,  of  the  water  baskets  are  made 
of  these  splints  and  rods  in  twined  work.  The  women  begin  at  the 
bottom  with  two  layers  of  rods  superimposed  and  fastened  by  their 
middles  at  right  angles.  The  free  ends  are  bent  upward,  and  in  and 
out  between  them  the  strands  are  woven,  new  warp  rods  being  inserted 
as  the  basket  widens.  An  attempt  at  ornamentation  is  frequently 
made  by  retaining  the  bark  on  some  of  the  strands  or  by  staining 
them  and  by  slightly  varying  the  weave.  A  squaw  commonly  occu 
pies  an  entire  month  constructing  one  such  basket. 

Starting  from  a  central  point  to  make  a  coiled  basket,  a  bundle  of 
two  or  three  grass  stems  and  one  very  slender  rod  is  wrapped  with  a 
willow  splint.  At  the  proper  point  the  foundation  is  drawn  more 
tightly,  so  that  the  remainder  of  the  spiral  forms  the  sides  of  the 
basket.  The  wall  has  the  thickness,  therefore,  of  one  of  these  bun 
dles,  and  is  composed  of  a  continuous  ascending  spiral.  The  willow 
rod  furnishes  a  strong  hold  for  the  stitches,  and  the  punctures  are  made 
with  an  iron  awl.  When  such  an  instrument  can  not  be  obtained  an 
admirable  equivalent  is  substituted  in  the  form  of  a  stout,  horny 
cactus  spine  from  the  devil's  pincushion,  Echinocactus  polyceplialus, 
set  in  a  head  of  hard  pitch.  The  grass  stems,  when  the  stitches  are 
drawn  tighthr,  make  a  perfect  packing,  and  the  basket  when  finished 
is  water  tight. 

The  pack  baskets  of  the  Panamint  Indians  have   the   form   of  a 


funnel,  from  1^  to  2i  feet  high  and  not  quite  so  broad.     The  loaded 


basket  is  held  against  the  back  between  the  shoulders,  either  by  the 
hands  grasping  its  rim,  or  by  leather  or  rope  throngs  passed  around 
the  forehead,  the  body  meanwhile  bent  forward. 

The  plaques  are  small,  flat,  circular  pieces  of  closely  sewed  coiled 
work,  usually  9  to  12  inches  in  diameter.  They  are  flexible  and  some 
times  slightly  saucer-shaped,  and  are  used  not  only  as  plates  and  pans, 
but  also  as  substitutes  for  sieves.  The  material  to  be  sifted,  composed 
of  ground  seeds,  is  placed  upon  the  plate  and  the  chaff  winnowed  out. 


472  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

The  pot  basket  of  the  Panamints  is  in  coiled  work  and  has  the  shape 
of  a  rather  deep  bowl  with  curved  sides  and  a  deep  bottom,  and  has  a 
capacity  of  about  3  pints.  The  squaw  uses  it  as  a  general  measure, 
as  a  bowl  for  dry  food  and  for  soup,  and  often,  when  in  the  sunshine, 
as  a  hat.  Most  of  their  starchy  food  is  roasted  dry  by  mixing  seeds, 
before  they  are  ground,  with  hot  coals  and  stirring  them  in  the  bas 
ket.  This  process  is  still  largely  used. 

The  water  basket  has  a  capacity  of  2  or  3  gallons.  Its  outline  is 
that  of  an  urn  with  a  narrow  neck  and  a  rounded,  conical  bottom. 
The  entire  inner  surface,  and  frequently  the  outside,  is  coated  with 
pitch.  Woven  into  the  shoulder  of  the  basket  on  one  side  are  two 
loops  of  horsehair,  or  other  strong  material,  to  which  is  attached  a 
thong.  In  carrying,  this  thong  is  passed  around  the  forehead,  wThile 
the  basket  is  rested  on  the  back  between  the  shoulders. 

All  the  Shoshonean  types  of  weaving,  all  their  forms  of  baskets,  and 
most  of  the  patterns  on  them  are  ancient.  The  canyon  walls  of  the 
upper  tributaries  of  the  Colorado  are  honeycombed  with  cliff  and  cave 
dwellings.  From  them  came  inexhaustible  treasures  of  basket  work." 

In  the  collection  of  Dr.  C.  Hart  Merriam  in  Washington  City  there 
are  most  excellent  examples  of  the  Panamint  (Shoshonean)  Indian 
basket  work  in  which  the  ornamentation  has  been  a  matter  of  especial 
stud}".  .Elate.  1$3  illustrates  five  examples  from  Dr.  Merriam's  collec 
tion,  which  I  am  allowed  here  to  reproduce.  Before  speaking  of  them 
it  will  be  at  once  noticed  that  these  Indians,  whose  origin,  or  at  least 
most  numerous  kindred,  are  in  the  Interior  Basin,  have  been  in  con 
tact  with  well-known  California  tribes  and  have  been  subjected  to  their 
influence.  (See  also  Plate  185.) 

Fig.  1  will  be  recognized  at  once  in  its  relationship  with  the  Tulare 
tribes.  The  ornamentation  consists  of  four  cycloidal  radii  made  up  of 
rectangles  in  black,  arranged  in  stepped  pattern.  Each  one  of  these 
rectangles  is  ornamented  with  two  double  chevron  patterns  called  hour 
glass  designs  by  Dr.  Dixon.  In  some  examples  the  color  is  mixed  red 
and  black.  Collections  of  short  and  parallel  lines  on  the  border  ter 
minate  the  patterns. 

Fig.  2,  another  Panamint  bowl,  has  the  center  ornamented  with 
groups  of  small  rectangles  in  threes.  The  first  band  near  the  bottom 
has  for  decoration  a  design  which  resembles  a  barbed  harpoon  head 
with  unilateral  prongs.  The  principal  band  on  the  body  is  decorated 
with  a  series  of  rhombs  in  black,  containing  white  and  black  designs 
within.  In  some  of  the  Californian  eastern  tribes  this  design  repre 
sents  the  eye,  but  until  the  symbol  is  surely  known,  denotive  names 
are  better.  The  border  is  decorated  with  groups  of  short  marks  in 
threes. 


F.  V.  Coville's  account  of  the  Panamint  Indiau.s  of  Death  Valley,  California, 
American  Anthropologist,  V,  1892,  pp.  351-361. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  473 

Fig.  3  is  a  bowl  with  plain  center,  excepting  a  short  owner's  mark, 
and  on  the  body  are  two  bands,  each  one  decorated  by  a  threefold 
chevronecl  pattern.  It  will  be  noted  that  the  offsets  in  the  three  bound 
ary  lines  of  the  designs  are  exactly  in  line  with  the  finishing  off  at 
the  upper  border.  This  feature  is  often  mentioned  by  basket  collect 
ors  among  other  tribes. 

Fig.  4:  is  another  Panamint  bowl,  the  interior  decorated  by  plain 
rings  in  black.  From  the  bottom  project  four  equidistant  wedge- 
shaped  designs  decorated  on  the  surface  with  rhombs  in  white.  On 
the  border,  the  pattern  shown  in  fig.  1  appears  rectangular  in  form 
with  eight  single  chevroned  designs  on  the  surface.  One  of  the  pat 
terns  is  abbreviated,  and  between  the  two  wedge-shaped  designs  on 
the  right  side  of  the  figure  is  an  arrow  motive  which  may  represent 
arrowheads  strung  or  the  feather  of  the  arrow  notched. 

Fig.  5  is  another  Panamint  bowl,  with  five  wedge-shaped  designs  on 
the  body,  proceeding  from  a  dark  ring  bordering  the  bottom.  Each 
design  has  outside  edges  bordered  in  white,  with  serrate  edges  in 
brown  and  straight  venations  in  white  on  the  middle  portion.  The 
little  groups  of  marks  in  threes  on  the  border  have  nothing  to  do  with 
the  radiate  pattern. 

Plate  18i  is  introduced  here  for  the  purpose  of  showing  how  the 
colors  mentioned  in  the  foregoing  pages  are  used  in  giving  variety 
and  beauty  to  the  surface  of  the  ware  in  this  area.  The  yellow  golden 
color  is  that  of  the  usual  sewing  material.  The  black  is  produced  by 
the  use  of  martynia.  The  red  is  from  the  Yucca  arborescent*.  In  the 
ordinary  photographic  plate  the  effect  of  these  colors  is  lost,  but  in 
the  illustrations  here  given  the  full  effect  is  brought  out.  Attention 
is  called  also  in  the  lower  figure  to  the  union  of  two  methods  of  sewing. 
In  the  figured  stripe  in  the  middle,  open  sewing  is  shown,  while  on  the 
rest  of  the  body  the  stitches  are  packed  close  together.  It  has  Pana 
mint  designs.  On  the  upper  bowl  they  are  Yokut,  but  the  materials 
of  both  are  Panamint.  The  open  weaving  also  and  the  shred  founda 
tion  point  in  the  same  direction. 

The  following  information  concerning  the  basket  tangle  in  this  area 
is  from  Mr.  C.  P.  Wilcomb,  of  the  Golden  Gate  Park  Museum,  San 
Francisco.  The  Inyo  and  the  Kern  (Inyo-Kern)  basketry  are  virtu 
ally  undistinguishable,  the  tribes  are  Paiute  (Shoshonean).  The 
Tulare  County  basketry  is  that  of  the  Yokuts,  and  is  identical 
with  that  of  the  Yokuts  of  Fresno  County  and  of  the  Monache  or 
Monos  (Shoshoneans  inhabiting  the  headwaters  of  the  San  Joaquin  and 
Kings  rivers).  The  Monache  and  the  Fresno  work  are  somewhat  coarser 
than  that  of  the  Tulare  tribes,  but  in  materials  and  shapes  are  identical. 
The  Kern  tribes  are  mostly  on  upper  Kern  River  in  the  vicinity  of 
Kernville. 


474  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

The  distinction  between  the  two  groups  seems  to  rest  on  a  geograph 
ical  basis,  inasmuch  as  the  Inyo-Kern  tribes  are  all  east  of  the  Sierra- 
Tehachapi  range,  and  the  other  group,  both  Yokuts  and  Shoshonean 
Monache,  west  of  the  main  divide. 

The  Tulare-Fresno  foundation  is  made  of  grass  stems  (Sporobolus 
vilfa,  or  EpieADirpe*  rigens].  The  Inyo-Kern  foundation  is  of  willow 
(Salix  lasiandra)  or  sometimes  of  the  root  of  sumac  (RJinx  trUolxita). 
For  the  Tulare  sewing,  roots  of  slough-grass  (Cyperus  /vVr;/.v,  or  Cla- 
dium  marwcus)  are  used,  while  in  the  Kern,  willow  is  usually  employed. 
For  the  red  of  their  patterns  the  Tulare-Fresno  Avomen  employ  the 
red  bud  (Cercis  occidentalis),  which  is  coarser  than  the  root  of  the  Yucca 
arborescens,  used  for  the  same  purpose  by  the  Inyo-Kern  and  Pana- 
mint.  The  Yucca  root  is  of  light  yellowish  red  like  willow  bark,  but 
is  sometimes  as  dark  as  cercis.  In  some  of  the  burden  baskets  and 
winnowing  trays  willow  bark  is  used  for  red.  The  Paiutes  do  not 
use  redbud.  For  black"  the  Tulare-Fresno  women  use  the  common 
fern  root  (Pteridium  aguilinwn),  while  in  Inyo-Kern  and  Panamint 
the  heart  of  the  tule  root  (Scirpm  nevadcnxix)  and  Marty nia  are 
employed.  In  Inyo-Kern  ware  quail  tips  and  red  wool  are  rarely 
used  on  baskets  as  the}T  are  on  Tulare;  but  small  private  marks  and 
symbols  are  wrought  with  split  pink  quills  from  the  woodpecker  known 
as  redshafted  nicker.  The  Tulare  make  many  large  bowl-shaped  bas 
kets.  In  Inyo  they  are  small,  if  of  this  shape. 

Plate  185  will  emphasize  the  difference  hinted  at  in  the  foregoing 
text  between  the  coarser  and  finer  weaving  in  the  same  area.  The 
upper  figure  in  the  plate  is  a  Tejon  bottle-necked  jar  in  the  collection 
of  E.  L.  McLeod,  of  Bakersfield.  The  ornamentation  is  the  striped 
pattern  well  known  among  the  different  tribes  in  this  area.  The 
foundation  is  laid  up  rather  wide  for  the  size  of  the  basket  and  the 
sewing  far  apart,  the  stitches  not  being  crowded  home.  Compare 
this  with  the  specimen  which  follows. 

Fig.  2,  catalogue  No.  204851,  U.  S.  National  Museum,  is  a  fine 
coiled  basket  bowl  collected  by  Eugene  Mead.  The  foundation  is  of 
the  three-stem  type.  The  sewing  is  in  splints  of  Cladiwn.  The 
ornamentation  is  in  the  black  fern  root  (JPteridium  aquilinum). 
There  are  nine  rows  of  sewing  and  thirteen  stitches  to  the  inch,  but 
the  most  remarkable  feature  in  this  large  bowl  is  that  the  three  rods 
foundation  and  the  sewing  together  make  a  fabric  not  an  eighth  of  an 
inch  in  thickness.  The  designs  are  two  serrated  lines  in  black.  On 
either  side  is  a  combination  of  symbolic  figures  which  almost  resem 
ble  letters  of  the  alphabet.  There  is  no  exact  history  of  this  basket, 
but  it  is  pronounced  by  Dr.  Merriam  to  be  the  Fresno  type  of  Yokut 
basket.  It  is  an  intrusive  form  among  the  Owens  Valley  Paiutes, 
captured  by  them  on  a  raid  into  the  interior  side  of  the  Sierra  Moun 
tains  a  long  time  ago.  Its  height  is  7f  inches,  and  diameter  15  inches. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  475 

Plate  186,  one  of  the  interesting-  specimens  in  Mr.  Wilcomb's  collec 
tion,  is  an  Inyo  basket,  made  in  Inyo  County  by  a  Tulare  (Yokut) 
squaw.  It  is  13  inches  in  diameter.  The  ornamentation  outside  the 
plain  center  is  radial  in  two  bands  of  stepped  patterns,  the  inner  band 
of  six,  the  outer  of  thirteen.  Each  one  of  the  latter  having  five 
parallel  elements,  there  are  with  the  interspaces  seventy-eight  ele 
mentary  stepped  designs  in  the  band.  The  border  is  the  oft-recurring 
bunch  of  colored  stitches  in  groups. 

Plate  187  represents  baskets  in  the  collections  of,  Powers  and  Gavin 
and  Leonard.  They  are  Tulare,  but  an  examination  shows  what  has 
heretofore  been  alluded  to,  the  difference  between  the  open  and  rather 
coarse  texture  of  the  Tulare  basket  mentioned  by  Mr.  Wilcomb  and 
the  very  much  more  refined  type  of  the  Inyo-Kern  makers  as  in  the 
lower  figure.  One  characteristic  worthy  of  observation  is  the  use  the 
weaver  has  made  of  small  differences  of  shade  in  the  splints  for  sewing, 
giving  a  clouded  effect  to  the  surface. 

From  the  Tule  River  country,  says  E.  L.  McLeod,  we  have  the 
fine  flexible  work,  an  improvement  on  their  more  northern  sisters  in 
Fresno.  But  the  women  of  the  Tejon  and  adjacent  mountain  tribes 
certainly  excelled  in  their  basket  work.  Their  choice  ware  is  much 
more  beautifully  finished,  their  patterns  much  more  numerous,  and 
here  is  where  they  show  the  influence  of  both  north  and  south  in  the 
number  and  diversity  of  their  patterns,  also  in  the  trading  of  mate 
rials.  Old  baskets  have  been  taken  from  the  caves  in  the  Tejon  where 
the  bottom  was  Mission  and  the  top  beautiful,  fine  Tejon;  also  exam 
ples  brought  from  caves  in  Santa  Barbara  County  that  were  made 
over  in  the  Tejon,  as  the  stitch,  texture,  and  all  general  appearance  go 
to  show  that  they  were  carried  about  by  the  Indians  with  them. 

An  excellent  example  of  moving  about  of  basket  makers  is  given 
b}^  McLeod.  A  woman  was  born  at  San  Gabriel  Mission,  where 
she  was  baptized  as  Maria  Narcissa,  and  is  now  about  70  years  old. 
She  was  brought  to  the  Tejon  Canyon  while  a  3^oung  child  about  9 
years  old,  and  she  still  remembers  much  of  the  language  and  customs 
of  her  native  people.  Her  uncle  Sabastian  was  General  Fremont's 
guide  into  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  through  the  Tejon  Pass.  Maria 
Narcissa  not  only  learned  the  language  of  her  adopted  people,  but 
many  of  the  dialects  of  the  surrounding  tribes.  Between  forty  and 
fifty  years  ago  she  was  taken  as  wife  by  a  young  American  of  English- 
German  parentage.  They  were  the  parents  of  a  large  family  of  chil 
dren,  and  he  gave  them  all  as  good  an  education  as  possible,  especiallv 
the  eldest  daughter. 

She  was  not  able  to  give  much  light  on  the  general  family  relation. 
The  tribes  from  the  north  as  far  up  as  Tule  River  used  to  come  down 
to  the  Tejon  for  some  purpose,  either  religious  or  social.  She  tells  of 
great  feasts  and  dances  and  great  gaming  baskets  where  they  used  to 


476  EEPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

play  games  of  chance.  But  far  the  longest  travel  was  from  San 
Fernando,  San  Gabriel,  Ventura,  Santa  Barbara,  and  Santa  Inez. 
Many  came  from  there  every  year  to  the  Tejon,  and  we  find  unques 
tionable  evidence  in  the  meeting  of  all  these  streams  in  their  basket 
work. 

In  a  translation  from  Costanso  (1709) a  occurs  this  account  of  the 
Santa  Barbara  basket  makers: 

These  are  [the  Indian  women]  who  make  the  trays  and  vases  of  rushes,  to  which 
they  give  a  thousand  different  forms  and  graceful  patterns,  according  to  the  uses  to 
which  they  are  destined,  whether  it  be  for  eating,  drinking,  guarding  their  seeds,  or 
other  ends,  for  these  people  do  not  know  the  use  of  earthenware  as  those  of  San 
Diego  use  it.  *  *  * 

The  large  vessels,  which  hold  water,  are  of  a  very  strong  weave  of  rushes  [junco], 
pitched  within,  and  they  give  them  the  same  form  as  our  tinigas  [water  jars]. 

Plates  188  to  195  are  taken  from  baskets  in  the  McLeod  collection 
and  cover  the  subjects  of  form  and  design  in  the  Inyo-Kern  and  Tulare- 
Fresno  area.  They  furnish  an  excellent  opportunity  of  seeing  how  far 
a  few  simple  geometric  elements  combine  in  kaleidoscopic  effects  in  the 
hands  of  the  skillful  Indian  woman.  Some  of  these  specimens  are  of 
exceeding  delicacy,  and  it  is  a  matter  of  wonder  how  so  many  little 
stems  of  uniform  diameter  could  be  gathered  together.  Gauges  are 
out  of  the  question. 

Plate  188.  nV.  1?  crenelated  and  chevroned  designs;  color,  crcaio, 
black,  and  red;  diameter,  12  inches;  depth,  9  inches. 

Fig.  2  is  a  very  different  pattern,  resembling  a  pine  tree;  color,  two 
shades  of  brown,  black,  and  cream;  diameter,  13  inches;  depth,  10 
inches. 

Fig.  3,  diameter,  11£  inches;  depth,  Si  inches;  21  stitches  to  the 
inch;  very  rich  shades  of  brown,  mottled,  cream,  and  black.  Pattern 
very  peculiar;  so  flexible  it  has  been  bent  together;  a  most  beautiful 
specimen. 

Fig.  4,  diameter,  11^  inches;  depth,  Ti  inches;  15  stitches  to  the 
inch;  body,  brown;  design,  black  and  cream;  very  rare. 

Fig.  5,  diameter,  11^  inches;  depth,  7  inches;  22  stitches  to  the  inch; 
color,  red,  black,  and  cream. 

Fig.  6,  diameter,  l?4  inches;  depth,  9i  inches;  21  stitches  to  the 
inch;  color,  cream,  and  two  shades  of  brown. 

Fig.  7,  diameter,  11£  inches;  depth,  7J  inches;  18  stitches  to  the 
inch;  colors,  red,  black,  and  cream;  very  old;  used  to  cook  grubs. 

Fig.  8,  diameter,  10  inches;  depth,  7  inches;  20  stitches  to  the  inch; 
color,  black,  brown,  red,  and  cream. 

Fig.  9,  diameter,  21£  inches;  depth,  15  inches;  12  stitches  to  the 
inch;  color,  cream  and  brown.  Very  effective;  thread  even,  well 
made,  but  not  closely  woven;  the  spirals  are  built  up  by  elongating 
the  little  rectangles. 

"Land  of  Sunshine,  XV,  1901,  p.  39. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  477 

189,  Tulare  baskets,  fig.  1,  diameter,  22  inches;  depth,  13 
inches;  stitches  to  the  inch,  30;  wood  mottled,  dark  and  light  brown, 
and  red.  One  of  the  very  old  style  of  flexible  gambling  baskets.  It 
would  be  possible  to  bend  it  together.  The  variety  of  effects  here 
shown  by  the  mere  use  of  the  broken  line  must  be  noted. 

Fig.  2,  bottle,  diameter,  8J  inches;  depth,  3f  inches;  diameter  of 
neck,  2f  inches;  17  stitches  to  the  inch;  color,  black,  red,  and  wood 
dark  with  age. 

Fig.  3,  diameter,  9  inches;  depth,  5£  inches;  22  stitches  to  the  inch; 
color,  brown,  red,  and  white. 

Fig.  4,  diameter,  8  inches;  depth,  4i  inches;  neck,  3f  inches; 
22  stitches  to  the  inch;  color,  cream,  red,  and  brown.  Red  wool  and 
quail  plumes. 

Fig.  5,  diameter,  9  inches;  depth,  6  inches;  14  stitches  to  the  inch; 
color,  black  and  natural- wood  color;  very  old.  The  white  woman 
from  whom  Mr.  McLeod  purchased  this  basket  had  owned  it  for  fifty 
years. 

Fig.  6,  diameter,  15  inches;  depth,  9  inches;  14  stitches  to  the  inch; 
color,  brown,  red,  and  mottled  wood. 

Fig.  7,  diameter,  8  inches;  depth,  8  inches;  22  stitches  to  the  inch. 

Plate  1901  group  of  baskets  from'  Tejon,  Kern  County.  Fig.  1, 
diameter,  13  inches;  depth,  7i  inches;  18  stitches  to  the  inch;  color, 
cream,  black,  red,  and  brown. 

Fig.  2,  mortar  basket;  diameter,  17  inches;  depth,  8  inches;  color, 
cream. 

Fig.  3,  diameter,  12^  inches;  depth,  7  inches;  24  stitches  to  the  inch; 
color,  black,  brown,  red,  and  cream;  very  old  and  fine  specimen. 

Fig.  4,  diameter,  7  inches;  depth,  3f  inches;  20  stitches  to  the  inch; 
color,  black,  brown,  and  cream,  with  spots  of  yellow-hammer  quill. 

Fig.  5,  diameter,  4£  inches;  depth,  3£  inches;  30  stitches  to  the  inch; 
color,  cream  and  brown;  very  old  and  most  beautifully  made. 

Fig.  6,  oblong;  length,  13  inches;  width,  12  inches;  depth,  6  inches; 
18  stitches  to  the  inch;  color,  brown  and  cream.  A  very  peculiar 
basket,  as  the  pattern  is  so  allied  to  those  of  Arizona  and  New  Mexico. 

Fig.  7,  diameter,  5  inches;  height,  3  inches;  24  stitches  to  the  inch; 
color,  dark  wood,  cream,  brown,  and  white,  with  dots  and  rim  of  red 
wool.  This  was  a  birth-gift  basket,  being  presented  filled  with  silver 
coins  to  an  Indian  woman  from  whom  it  was  purchased  at  the  birth  of 
one  of  her  daughters,  who  is  now  40  years  old.  The  giver  was  Sabas- 
tian,  General  Fremont's  guide. 

Fig.  8,  diameter,  6£  inches;  height,  5i  inches;  21  stitches  to  the  inch; 
color,  black  and  cream;  veiy  old. 

Fig.  9,  diameter,  12  inches;  circumference,  38  inches;  depth,  7i 
inches;  15  stitches  to  the  inch;  color,  black,  brown,  cream,  and 
mottled  wrood. 


478  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

Fig.  10,  oblong;  length,  4  inches;  width,  3  inches;  height,  3  inches; 
22  stitches  to  the  inch;  color,  cream  and  brown. 

Fig.  11,  diameter,  20  inches;  depth,  12  inches;  24  stitches  to  the  inch; 
color,  cream;  pattern,  black. 

Plate  191.  baskets  from  Kern  and  Tularc  counties.  Fig.  1,  Kern 
County;  diameter,  18  inches;  depth,  12  inches;  17  stitches  to  the  inch; 
color,  cream,  brown,  and  red.  A  very  dark  basket.  The  vertical  row 
of  triangles  and  the  human  figures  must  be  observed. 

Fig.  2,  diameter,  84  inches;  depth,  6  inches;  diameter  of  neck,  3f 
inches;  22  stitches  to  the  inch;  very  fine  in  weave,  shape,  and  finish; 
color,  rich  cream,  black,  and  red;  very  old;  made  at  Tejon. 

Fig.  3,  diameter,  6  inches;  depth,  44  inches;  neck  diameter,  2£ 
inches;  17  stitches  to  the  inch;  made  at  Tejon.  Top  is  brown;  bot 
tom  and  pattern  are  white  with  black  markings.  This  design  is  the 
"Sachem  dancing  about  the  funeral  baskets,"  which  they  string  on 
poles  erected  at  their  burial  places. 

Fig.  4,  diameter,  154  inches;  depth,  9  inches;  18  stitches  to  the  inch; 
color,  cream  and  three  shades  of  brown. 

Fig.  5,  Kern  County  squaw  cap;  diameter,  8  inches;  depth,  5  inches; 
26  stitches  to  the  inch;  color,  cream,  black,  and  red. 

Fig.  6,  Kern  County  basket;  diameter,  20  inches;  depth,  124  inches; 
color,  cream,  brown,  red,  and  black. 

Fig.  7,  Tulare  basket;  diameter,  30  inches;  depth,  17  inches;  14 
stitches  to  the  inch;  color,  dark  wood,  red,  and  black.  Braided  edge; 
very  beautifully  woven  and  finished.  The  thread  is  regular  but  wide. 
The  squaw  was  one  year  in  making  it. 

Fig.  8,  diameter,  7f  inches;  depth,  5  inches;  diameter  of  neck,  4 
inches;  20  stitches  to  the  inch;  made  in  Kern  County;  colors,  body  in 
brown;  pattern,  in  black  and  white. 

Fig.  9,  Tulare  basket;  diameter,  7  inches;  depth,  4  inches;  30  stitches 
to  the  inch;  color,  wood,  black,  red,  white,  and  dark  brown,  and  red 
wool;  a  beauty. 

Plate  192.  group  of  baskets  from  South  Fork  Caliente  Creek  and 
Paiute  Mountain  (McLeod's  Plate  11).  /C**/w/  &rs  ^c^^o^^^^ 

Basket  No.  1,  diameter,  24  inches;  depth,  154  inches;  stitches,  14; 
colors,  cream,  black,  red,  brown.  The  noteworthy  features  are  the 
simple,  undecorated  crenelations.  Compare  fig.  9. 

No.  2,  diameter,  21  inches;  depth,  154  inches;  stitches,  17;  color, 
body,  mottled  wood  shades;  pattern,  cream,  black,  and  dark  red. 
This  is  a  very  choice  specimen.  The  design  is  one  that  they  use  when 
they  make  a  basket  for  a  special  friendship  gift  and  is  highly  prized. 
I  was  five  years  in  getting  the  squaw  to  part  with  this  basket. 

No.  3,  described  on  another  plate. 

No.  4,  diameter,  18  inches;  depth,  134  inches;  stitches,  17;  color, 
body,  wood  shades;  pattern,  cream,  black,  red;  a  very  beautiful 
basket. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  479 

No.  5,  described  on  another  plate. 

No.  6,  diameter,  7i  inches;  depth,  6^  inches;  stitches,  19;  color, 
cream,  red,  and  black;  a  very  fine  squaw  cap. 

No.  7,  diameter,  8  inches;  depth,  6  inches;  stitches,  17;  color, 
cream,  black,  and  brown. 

No.  8,  diameter,  15J  inches;  depth,  11 J-  inches;  stitches,  14;  color, 
cream,  red,  and  an  unusual  amount  of  black.  This  design  with  some 
is  the  tail  of  the  rattlesnake  and  with  others  the  arrowhead.  The 
administration  of  radial  patterns  is  a  striking-  feature  in  this  plate. 
The  forms  of  the  radii,  but  chiefly  the  varied  markings  on  them,  are 
most  effective. 

No.  9,  described  on  another  plate. 

No.  10,  diameter,  11J  incnes;  depth,  9  inches;  stitches,  22;  color, 
black,  brown,  and  cream,  with  yellow-hammer  quills;  a  very  odd 
shape  and  good  pattern. 

No.  11,  diameter,  15  inches;  depth,  11  inches;  stitches,  15;  color,  rich 
red,  brown,  black,  and  cream.  A  very  striking  example  and  unusual 
for  so  much  dark  color.  TUB  A  TULA  3 A4 

Plate  193  is  a  fine  coiled  basket  of  the  Kern  CountyyJndians,  who 
belong  to  the  Shoshonean  family.  It  was  made  in  Canebrake  Canyon 
by  the  last  old  basket  maker  of  the  tribe,  who  was  swept  away  in  a 
flood  in  August,  1901.  The  decorative  patterns  are  ideal.  Nine  ver 
tical  stripes  in- black  and  red,  with  stepped  borders  and  diamond  figures 
on  the  interior,  rise  from  the  plain  bottom  and  extend  to  the  lower 
edge  of  the  rim.  The  latter  has  its  own  fine-checkered,  sloping 
designs,  with  no  relation  to  the  decoration  on  the  body.  Circumfer 
ence,  29  inches;  diameter,  9  inches;  height,  5  inches;  stitches  to  the 
inch,  32;  colors,  red,  black,  and  cream.  A  design  of  quail  plumes  is 
shown  on  the  border. 

Plate  194  is  a  coiled  bottle  neck  from  Cane  Brake  Camion,  Kern 
River,  Kern  County.  Diameter,  9  inches;  height,  6  inches;  stitches 
to  the  inch,  24;  color,  cream,  black,  and  brown.  This  and  Plate  193 
were  both  made  by  the  same  squaw,  who  was  supposed  to  be  about  85 
years  of  age,  and  was  the  last  really  good  weaver  in  Kern  County. 
The  ornamentation  on  this  basket  consists  in  a  band  of  dentate  figures 
on  the  bottom  and  three  bands  of  crenelated  ornament  on  the  body 
and  top.  The  dentate  figures  also  occur  on  the  outer  projection  of  the 
crenelles  on  the  body.  Dr.  Merriam  has  found  this  pattern  symboliz 
ing  the  spasmodic  flight  of  a  butterfly.  Below  the  border  of  the  lower 
band  are  rhombs  in  pairs,  and  there  are  five  checker  oblique  patterns 
about  the  rim. 

Plate  195.  McLeod  collection,  is  a  Kern  County  basket  from  Paiute 
Mountain,  called  by  him  the  apostolic  basket,  from  the  human  figures 
on  the  top.  Diameter,  15  inches;  height,  12  inches;  stitches  to  the 
inch,  28;  colors,  red,  brown,  black,  and  cream.  The  owner  speaks  of 


480 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 


this  as  the  most  beautiful  specimen  in  his  collection.  The  woman  was 
three  years  at  work  on  it,  and  it  is  at  least  60  years  old.  The  orna 
mentation  consists  of  dis 
crete  figures  of  five  rec 
tangles,  thirteen  men  on 
the  upper  part,  but  chiefly 
of  seven  radial  patterns 
ascending  to  the  mouth. 
Each  is  made  up  of  a  con 
tinuous  series  of  rectan 
gular  figures  touching  and 
by  echelon.  This  pattern 
will  be  seen  frequently, 
and  the  specimen  may  be 
taken  as  a  type  of  that 
particular  design. 

Fig.  172  is  a  grasshop 
per  basket  of  the  Wikch- 
umni  Indians  (Mariposan 
family),  in  a  style  of  tech 
nique  which  may  be  called 
interrupted  coiled  work. 
The  foundation  is  a  small 
bundle  of  stems  or  shreds. 
The  sewing  consists  in 
wrapping  the  foundation 
from  five  to  ten  times  with  the  splint,  and  then  catching  this  under 
one  or  two  turns  of  the  coil  below  in  the  form  of  stitches,  the  only 
bond  which  holds  the  fabric  together  being  these  few  stitches.  Another 
example  of  this  sort  of  interrupted 
work  in  North  America  is  shown  in 
Plate  126,  illustrating  basketry  from 
the  Eskimo  of  Hudson  Bay. 

The  existence  of  this  type  of  bas 
ketry  in  a  restricted  area  among  the 
Mariposan  family  raises  interesting 
questions  about  the  cause  of  its  oc 
currence  here.  The  ornamentation 
consists  in  rows,  hourglass  patterns, 
and  figures  resembling  the  letters 
of  the  alphabet,  done  in  brown  ma 
terial,  like  cercis  or  fern  stems. 

The  detail  of  this  interrupted  work 

is  well  shown  in  fig.  173,  where  the  wrapping  is  plainly  illustrated, 
and  also  the  methods  of  joining.     By  bringing  the  stitches  one  over 


FIG.  172. 

GRASSHOPPER    BASKET. 

Wikfhumni  Indians,  California 
Cat.  No.  215586,  U.S.N.M. 


\\ 


FIG.  173. 
DETAIL  OF  FIG.  172. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  481 

another,  geometrical  patterns  are  produced.     As  the  work  widens, 
new  rows  are  introduced,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  principal  figure. 

This  specimen  Catalogue  No.  215586,  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum, 
is  a  gift  from  C.  P.  Wilcomb,  of  California. 

Mr.  McLeod,  who  has  the  largest  collection  of  the  grasshopper 
baskets,  says  of  them  that  they  have  no  such  function.  They  are  all 
made  by  two  families,  the  Butterbread  and  the  Williams,  living  in 
Kelsey  Canyon,  Kern  County,  California.  The  sewing  and  wrapping 
are  faultless.  The  ornamentation  is  chiefly  in  plain  lines  and  rec 
tangles.  On  one  of  them,  fig.  10,  the  chevroned  design  is  attempted 
with  doubtful  success,  but  figs.  2  and  3  have  the  stepped  radial  pat 
terns  well  carried  out,  and  on  jig.  9  the  human  conventional  figure  is 
cleverly  executed.  (See  Plate"  196.) 

Mission  Indian  basket  makers  belong  to  the  Shoshonean  and  Yuman 
families.  They  receive  their  several  names  from  the  Franciscan  mis 
sions  of  southern  California,  into  which  they  were  gathered,  and  where 
their  tribal  identity  was  lost.  In  the  present  state  of  knowledge  it  is 
not  possible  to  distinguish  the  linguistic  family  by  the  shape,  technic, 
or  designs  of  basketry. 

The  material  of  Mission  Indian  baskets  differs  according  to  locality. 
A  rush,  probably  several  species,  is  used  for  the  sewing;  the  best 
known  to  Mr.  Coville  is  Juncus  lemerii,  the  Techahet  Indians  using  it 
almost  exclusively.  This  plant  is  collected  and  dried,  and  what  are 
often  thought  to  be  brushes  by  strangers  are  merely  bunches  of  this 
rush  prepared  for  the  weaver's  use.  A  tall,  thin  grass,  Vilfa  rigens,  is 
used  as  the  body  of  the  coil,  about  which  pieces  of  the  Juncus  are 
wound.  Such  of  the  latter  as  are  intended  for  ornamentation  are 
dyed  black  by  steeping  in  water  portions  of  Sueda  diffusa,  and  a  rich 
yellowish  brown  is  produced  in  a  like  manner  from  the  plants  Doled 
emoryi  and  Dalea  polyadenia.  The  bottoms  of  large  baskets  are  often 
strengthened  by  the  introduction  of  twigs  of  JKhus  aromatica  or  three- 
leaf  sumac.  Dr.  Merriam  finds  that  latterly  the  leaf  of  a  palm  (Neo- 
washingtonia  filamentosa]  is  used  for  sewing.  The  work  resembles 
that  done  in  rafia. 

In  beginning  a  basket  a  central  foundation  is  made  and  the  rush 
wound  about  it  and  coiled,  fastened  by  fibers  passing  through  holes 
made  for  the  purpose  with  a  pointed  bone  or  metal  awl.  This  is  the 
commonest  method  employed. 

To  assist  the  student  in  understanding  the  relationship  of  arts  in 
southern  California,  the  following  account  of  tribes  from  Dr.  Barrows 
will  be  helpful.  The  Indian  tribes  south  of  Santa  Inez  Mountains  on 
the  coast  and  San  Joaquin  Valley  in  the  interior  fall  into  three  divi 
sions:  (1)  Tribes  of  Santa  Barbara  channels  and  islands  covering  the 
coast  of  Ventura  County;  (2)  Serranos;  (3)  Coahuillas. 
NAT  MUS  1902 31 


482  REPORT   OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

The  Serranos  live  on  a  small  reservation  at  San  Bernardino  and 
on  the  Morongo  Reservation  in  the  San  Gorgonio  pass  in  southern 
California.  They  are  called  Takhtam  by  Loew. 

The  Coahuillas  live  in  the  Colorado  Desert  and  the  San  Jacinto 
Mountains.  The  word  is  also  spelled  Kauvuyah  by  Gatschet  after 
Loew.  Dr.  Barrows  thinks  this  to  be  only  the  German  spelling  for 
Coahuilla  (pronounced  Kau-vii-yah). 

With  them  he  joins  by  speech  the  Indians  of  the  missions  north 
ward,  making  a  Coahuillian  linguistic  family;  perhaps  it  Avere  better  a 

subfamily. 

Coahuillian  subfamily 

1.  Coahuillas.     Colorado  Desert  and  San  Jacinto  Mountains. 

2.  (jraitchim.     Oscar  Loew's  name  for  Netela. 

3.  Kechi.     Missions  of  San  Luis  Rey. 

4.  Kizh.     San  Gabriel  Missior 

5.  Luisenos.      (See  Kechi.) 

6.  San  Fernando  Mission. 

7.  Serranos. 

8.  Takhtam  or  Takhtem,  Loew's  name  for  Serranos. 

9.  Temeculas.     At  Pechanga,  8  miles  north  from  Luisenos. 
10.  Tobikhar.     Loew's  name  for  Kizh. 

Barrows  narrates  that  the  Coahuilla  basketrv  and  that  of  the  Dierme- 

•/  "o 

nos  as  well  as  Luisenos  is  of  the  one  California  type,  namely,  coiled 
ware,  and  fragments  of  similar  technic  have  been  found  by  Schumacher 
in  the  graves  of  the  Santa  Barbara  channel.  He  quotes  Humboldt  to 
the  eft'ect  that  the  Indians  presented  the  Spaniards  "with  vases 
curiously  wrought  of  stalks  of  rushes  and  covered  within  with  a  very 
thin  layer  of  asphaltum  that  renders  them  impenetrable  to  water." 
Lumps  of  the  material  are  said  to  have  been  put  into  the  basket  with 
hot  stones  and  shaken  with  a  rotary  motion  to  distribute  it.  The 
foundation  of  the  coil  is  a  bunch  of  grass,  su-ul  (  Yilfd  rigens).  The 
sewing  material  varies  according  to  the  color  desired.  The  three-leaf 
sumac  (Rkus  trilobata)  gives  a  light  straw  color;  these  are  dyed  black 
in  a  wash,  made  from  the  berry  stems  of  the  elder,  hun  kwat  (Sam- 
fiucus).  The  other  sewing  material  is  a  bulrush  or  reed  grass  (Juncus 
lesnerii)  or  Juncus  rolmstus).  The  scape  and  leaves  are  2  to  4  feet  high 
or  more,  stout  and  pungent.  A  supply  of  these  is  gathered  by  the 
basket  maker  and  cut  into  suitable  lengths.  The  wroman  then  with  her 
hands  and  teeth  splits  the  scape  carefully  into  three  equal  portions. 
Near  its  base  the  reed  is  of  a  deep  red,  lightening  in  color  upward, 
passing  through  several  shades  of  light  brown,  and  ending  at  the  top 
in  a  brownish  yellow.  For  dyeing  black,  ngaial  (Snedadiffusa)  is  also 
employed,  and  Dr.  Palmer  also  mentions  a  dahlia  (/>.  potyadenia)  as 
furnishing  a  yellowish  brown  dye. 

The  Techahet,  use  the  reed  grass  (Jttncits  rolmstits)  or  the  fflius 
trilobata,  and  the  tall  thin  grass  (  Vilfd  rigens)  in  a  dried  state  for 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  483 

making  basketry,  the  first  two  for  binding  material,  the  latter  for  the 
body.  The  reed  grass  is  split,  some  of  it  dyed,  usually  brown.  The 
basket  is  begun  at  the  center  of  the  bottom,  the  thickness  of  the  coil 
of  grass  depending  upon  the  size  of  the  basket  to  be  made.  A  bone 
pricker  is  used.  The  coil  is  begun  by  laying  one  end  of  the  filament 
upon  the  bunch  of  grass  and  taking  a  few  wraps  about  it  to  hold  it 
down.  This  is  bent  double  and  the  sewing  progresses  by  catching  the 
filament  over  the  bunch  of  grass  through  the  coil  of  the  sewing  filament 
made  at  the  last  turn. 

Basket  making  among  the  Coahuillas  belongs  to  the  old  women. 
They  sit  flat  on  the  ground  with  the  feet  thrust  out  in  front.  The 
deft  artist  holds  her  work  in  her  lap,  at  her  right  lies  the  grass  for  the 
foundation,  on  her  left,  soaking  in  a  pot  of  water,  her  variously  col 
ored  splints.  Her  only  tool  is  her  awl,  "  wish,"  anciently  of  bone  or  a 
cactus  spine  set  in  a  piece  of  asphaltum;  but  now  a  nail  serves  the  pur 
pose,  one  end  pointed,  the  other  in  a  handle  of  manzanita  wood.  The 
sewing  materials  are  named  according  to  colors — the  scapes  of  juncw 
se  il;  the  red  portion,  i  i  ul;  dyed  black  they  are  se-il-tu-iksh.  Splints 
from  sumac  are  se-lit  and  the  grass  of  the  foundation  suul.  No  model 
or  pattern  is  ever  used.  The  border  is  finished  by  simply  cutting  the 
sewing  material  close  on  the  inner  side.  The  most  common  form, 
se-whal-lal,  of  Coahuilla  basket  has  a  flat  bottom  and  gently  flaring 
sides,  a  depth  of  from  4  to  7  inches  and  a  width  of  from  13  to  20 
inches.  These  are  for  holding  foods,  including  seeds,  grains  and 
fruits,  household  utensils,  and  basket  materials.  Small,  globular  bas 
kets,  with  bulging  sides  and  rather  wide  mouths,  5  to  10  inches  in 
diameter,  are  called  te-vin-ze-mal.  They  are  the  prettiest  and  the 
most  carefully  ornamented  and  are  used  to  hold  trinkets  and  sewing 
materials.  The  deep  packing  baskets,  se  kwa-vel-em,  are  about  18 
inches  deep  and  are  used  for  packing  loads.  Rawhide  strings,  ka  wi 
ve,  are  tied  to  opposite  edges  to  pass  around  the  forehead,  but  usually 
the  basket  is  sustained  in  a  net.  They  are  used  not  only  for  food  gath 
ering,  but  on  the  threshing  floor  for  storing  foods.  The  chi-pat-mal  is 
a  round,  almost  flat  basket,  16  to  18  inches  in  diameter  and  one  or  more 
inches  deep,  used  for  harvesting.  The  woman  beats  it  full  of  grass 
seeds  or  fills  it  with  elder  berries  or  cactus  fruit,  and  transfers  the 
contents  to  the  packing  basket  on  her  back.  It  makes  a  good  tray, 
platter,  fruit  dish,  or  receptacle  for  meal,  and  is  exclusively  the 
winnower. 

The  basket  hat,  yu-ma-wal,  shaped  like  a  truncated  cone,  is  worn  by 
women  especially  to  protect  the  head  from  the  carrying  band.  It 
serves  also  for  a  water  dipper  or  mixing  pan.  The  chi-pa-cha-kish, 
holding  about  2  quarts,  is  an  openwork  basket  of  network,  made  from 
the  unsplit,  flattened  scapes  of  the  se-il,  or  Juncus.  They  are  often 


484 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 


provided  with  a  bail  and  hung  up  in  the  house  or  ramada  to  contain 
fruit  or  vegetables. a 

Fig.  174  is  a  coiled  basket  of  the  Coahuilla  (Shoshonean  family). 
The  foundation  coil  is  of  stems  of  grass;  the  sewing  is  in  splints  of 
sumac  (jRJnis  trilobata).  The  ornamentation  is  in  stems  of  rush  dyed 
black  with  sea  blite  (Sueda  diffusci). 

No  special  study  has  been  made  of  the  meaning  in  the  designs  upon 
the  Coahuilla  basketry.  It  is  impossible,  therefore,  to  guess  what  the 
combinations  of  parallelograms  may  mean.  From  the  point  of  view  of 
elementary  forms  in  design,  it  is  interesting  to  note  what  diversities 
of  effects  may  be  produced  by  variations  in  the  form  and  composition 


FIG.  174. 
COILED  HOWL. 

Coahuilla  Indians,  California. 
Cat.  No.  21787,  U.S.N.M.     Collected  by  Edward  Palmer. 


of  simple  geometric,  patterns.  Five  of  the  figures  on  the  example 
here  shown  are  built  up  of  rhomboidal  elements  and  a  single  one  is  the 
composition  of  rectangles  in  quincunxes. 

Fig.  175  is  a  view  of  the  inside  of  the  bowl,  showing  the  ornamen 
tation.  A  square  inch  of  coil  foundation,  made  up  of  straws  or  small 
filaments,  is  shown  in  fig.  176.  This  specimen,  Catalogue  No.  21787 
in  the  II.  S.  National  Museum,  was  procured  in  southern  California  by 
Edward  Palmer. 

Fig.  177  is  an  inside  view  of  another  specimen  from  the  Coahuilla 
tribe  and  made  of  the  same  material.  It  is  possible  that  some  of  the 
specimens  from  this  tribe  are  sewed  with  splints  of  willow.  It  is  dif- 


«  David  Prescott  Barrows,  The  Ethno-Botany  of  the  Coahuilla  Indians  of  Southern 
California.  Chicago,  1900.  Chapter  IV  (quoting  Paul  Schumacher,  Humboldt, 
Hugo  Ileid,  Edward  Palmer). 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


485 


ficult  in  the  dried  form  to  distinguish  the  two  materials.  The  pretty, 
attractive  design  on  this  specimen  is  simplicity  itself.  Small  triangles 
are  arranged  in  two  rows,  half  of  them  joining  outward  and  the  other 


FIG.  175. 
INSIDE  VIEW  OF  FIG.  174. 


half  inward  from  the  base,  forming  a  continuous  circle.  One  row  is 
so  suggested  with  reference  to  the  other  that  the  white  space  between 
forms  a  continuous  chevron.  It  is  a  little  difficult  to  say  whether  the 
whole  meaning  of  such  a  result  from  simple  processes  was  in  the  mind 
of  the  basket  maker.  While  not  wishing 
to  deprive  her  of  all  the  credit  due  to  her 
for  this  beautiful  work,  one  can  scarcely 
refrain  from  thinking  that  the  total  effect 
was  not  comprehended  by  the  artist. 

This  specimen,  Catalogue  No.  21786  in 
the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  was  collected 
in  southern  California  by  Edward  Palmer. 

Plate  197  is  the  portrait  of  Mercedes 
Nolasquez,  the  mother  of  the  capitan  of 
the  Mission  Agua  Caliente  in  San  Diego 
County,  southern  California.  The  Mis 
sion  Indians  of  this  reservation  belong  to 
the  great  Shoshonean  family.  A  portion  of  her  house  is  shown  in  a 
coiled  bowl  filled  with  acorns.  In  her  hands  she  is  holding  a  partly 
finished  coiled  basket,  the  foundation  of  which  is  a  number  of  stems 


FIG.  176. 
SQUARE  INCH  OF  FIG.  174. 


486 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 


of  grass.  Tho  sewing  is  done  with  split  martynia  pods  giving  the 
black  color,  and  split  steins  of  rhus  giving  the  white  color.  The  only 
implement  used  in  the  manufacture  is  a  tine  awl  for  making  holes  to 
accommodate  the  stitches. 

It  is  to  be  noticed  that  Mercedes  is  not  holding  the  bowl  in  the 
position  for  sewing,  but  has  turned  it  down  and  around  in  order  to 
show  her  work.  Photographed  by  George  Wharton  James. 

Plate  11)8  represents  a  Saboba  basketmaker  near  the  mission  of 
San  Jacinto  on  the  Mission  Indian  Reservation  in  southwestern  Cali 
fornia,  sitting  at  the  door  of  her  rude  home  and  studio.  She  is  the 


FIG.  177. 

COILED  BOWL. 

Cofihuilla  Indians,  California. 

Cat.  No.  21786,  U.S.X.M.     Collected  by  Edward  Palmer. 


wife  of  Jose  Pedro  Lucero,  of  Shoshonean  famil}T,  and  is  now  one  of 
the  few  makers  of  Mission  Indian  coiled  baskets  left  at  this  point. 
Specimens  of  her  work  are  shown  in  the  adjoining  illustrations. 
Photographed  by  George  Wharton  James. 

Plate  199  is  a  coiled  bowl  made  by  the  Mission  Indians  of  California, 
illustrating  the  technic  with  splint  foundation.  The  sewing  of  the 
Mission  baskets  is  sometimes  in  bull  rush  and  at  others  in  splints. 
The  dark  mark  near  the  center  is  said  to  be  the  signature  of  the 
maker.  The  colors  in  the  ornament  around  the  border  are  produced 
by  sewing  natural  material  of  different  shades. 

Plate  200   represents  a  Havasupai   or  Coconino  woman  making  a 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


487 


coiled  basket.  In  Powell's  Indian  Linguistic  Families  the  Yuman 
tribes  include  the  Coconino,  Cocopa,  Kutcliin  or  Yuman  proper,  Die- 
Buenos,  Havasupai,  Maricopa,  Mohave,  Seri,  Waicuru,  and  Walapai. 
The  Yuman  tribes  occupy  the  peninsula  of  Lower  California,  and  are 
are  also  mixed  with  other  tribes  in  southern  California  and  in  western 
Arizona,  especially  along  the  Colorado  River.  Many  of  the  bands  of 
Indians  called  missions  belong  to  this  linguistic  division.  The  types 
of  basketry  made  by  the  Hava 
supai  are  shown  in  the  following 
illustration. 

Formerly  the  only  implement 
of  the  basket  maker  was  a  bone 
awl  replaced  in  this  instance  by 
one  of  metal.  It  is  noteworthy 
that  she  is  working  toward  her 
left  hand,  the  wrong  side  of  her 
basket  being  inside.  After  the 
work  is  done  the  projecting  ends 
are  carefully  clipped  by  means 
of  scissors.  Photographed  by 
George  W barton  James. 

Plate  201  presents  two  very 
ancient  tray -shaped  baskets  or 
plaques  from  the  cave  in  San 
Martin  Mountains,  Los  Angeles 
County,  California,  which  were 
collected  by  Stephen  Bowers. 
The  Catalogue  No.  is  39245,  in 
the  Peabody  Museum,  Cam 
bridge,  Massachusetts.  (See 
also  Plate  202.) 

The  upper  figure  is  a  fine  old 
example  of  coiled  weaving  in  the  three-rod  t}7pe,  the  stitch  interlocking 
with  the  upper  element. 

The  lower  figure  is  an  example  of  the  same  kind  of  coiling,  but  the 
surface  has  been  covered  with  asphalt,  so  that  the  texture  is  almost 
totally  obliterated. 

Twined  weaving  is  not  so  common  as  coiled  work  in  southern  Call 
fornia.  One  could  scarcely  conceive  a  more  primitive  specimen,  how 
ever,  than  is  shown  in  fig.  178,  from  the  Dieguenos  Indians  (Yuman 
family)  living  about  San  Diego,  California.  The  specimen  is  a  basket 
for  cactus  fruit.  The  warp  is  gathered  singly  or  in  pairs  in  the  twists 
of  the  weft.  Old  specimens  of  twined  weaving  from  the  region,  on 
the  contrary,  are  finely  wrought. 

Plate  203  represents  a  sack  in  twined  weaving,  collected  at  Mesa 


FIG.  178. 

TWINED  BASKET. 

Dieguenos  Indiana,  California. 
Cat.  No.  19742,  U.S.N.M.     Collected  by  Edward  Palmer. 


488  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 

Grande,  on  the  Mission  Indian  Reservation,  in  southern  California,  by 
Mrs.  Watkins,  the  Government  teacher  there,  and  sent  to  the  National 
Museum  by  Miss  Constance  Goddard  DuBois.  The  dark  threads  are 
said,  by  Mrs.  Watkins,  to  be  made  from  the  inner  bark  of  Asdepias 
vest  it  a  and  the  lighter  threads,  in  which  the  decorative  bands  are 
worked,  from  Asdepias  ascicularis.  It  is  a  very  ancient  piece,  the 
only  one  that  had  been  seen  in  those  parts.  Narciso  Lachapa,  whose 
father  owned  it,  says  it  was  old  when  he  was  a  boy. 

The  majority  of  baskets  from  the  Mission  region  are  in  coiled  weav 
ing.  A  few  examples  of  twined  weaving  from  this  area  have  been 
seen  in  collections,  but  none  equalling  this  in  size  and  beauty.  Its 
height  is  29  inches. 

THE  INTERIOR  BASIN  REGION 

Not  the  hands,  but  reason  teaches  mankind  arts;  but  the  hands  are  the  instruments  of  arts,  as  the 
lyre  is  of  the  musician  and  the  forceps  are  of  the  mechanic.— GALEN. 

Leaving  now  the  Pacific  slope  we  may  examine  the  basketry  of  the 
Great  Interior  Basin,  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  Siouan,  Kiowan,  and 
Caddoan  families  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  Siouan  tribes, 
together  with  the  western  Algonquian  and  other  tribes  wedged  in 
among  them,  borrow  coiled  gambling  baskets  and  substitute  the  con 
venient  buffalo  hide  for  textiles;  but  the  Caddoan  (see  figs.  1^4,  125) 
were  excellent  workers  in  twilled  weaving. 

On  the  north,  this  basketry  area  merges  into  the  Fraser-Columbian 
group,  Salishan  and  Shahaptian  tribes  chiefly,  who  are  especially  skill 
ful  in  twined  work  of  peculiar  types.  The  soft  hat  in  wrapped  twined 
work  and  most  of  all  the  twined  wallet  overlaid  predominate  with  the 
Shahaptian,  but  the  Salish  have  a  wide  range  of  technic, 

On  the  west  there  is  no  sharp  boundary  line  as  will  be  soon  shown, 
the  Interior  Basin  area  and  the  Oregon-California  fitting  into  and 
invading  each  other  as  shore  and  water  line  on  an  irregular  coast. 
This  will  l>e  especially  noticeable  with  coiled  work,  the  three-rod 
foundation  of  California  being  adopted  by  some  Ute  tribes. 

The  same  is  true  of  the  southern  boundary,  the  linguistic  families 
dovetailing  into  those  of  Mexico.  The  Apache  cross  the  boundary 
southward,  the  Yuman  and  Piman  tribes  also  reaching  northward  and 
excelling  in  coiled  ware  with  fine  grass  foundation. 

The  tribal  or  ethnic  groups  in  this  area  are  chiefly  the  Shoshonean 
and  the  Athapascan.  The  first  named  is  a  vast  linguistic  family  reach 
ing  from  near  the  forty-ninth  parallel  to  Costa  .Rica,  the  latter,  quite 
as  widespread,  extending  between  30°  and  70°  north.  Care  must 
again  be  taken  to  separate  the  classific  concept  of  language  from  that 
of  blood  kinship  or  of  arts.  Where  peoples  live  contiguous  and  have 
the  same  speech,  their  blood  becomes  mingled  as  a  matter  of  course. 
Arts  will  also  be  communicated.  Especially  is  this  true  of  the  one 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  489 

here  considered,  being  a  woman's  craft.     The  Athapascan  occupies  the 
southern  portion  of  the  Basin,  and  the  Pueblos  are  most  of  them  in 

northern  Arizona  and  New  Mexico. 

» 

SHOSHONEAX    AND    PUEBLO    BASKETRY 

By  far  the  largest  part  of  the  Interior  Basin  is  Shoshonean.  The 
tribes  also  spread  out  far  to  the  north  in  the  drainage  of  the  Snake 
River;  have  pushed  themselves  across  the  Rocky  Mountains  on  the 
southeast  into  the  drainage  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  on  the  western 
side  occupied  a  large  part  of  southern  California  as  was  shown.  The 
basket-making  tribes  are  the  Shoshoni  in  Idaho;  the  Ute,  with  many 
subdivisions,  in  Colorado  and  Utah;  the  Paiute  in  western  Nevada 
arid  California  adjoining.  As  before  intimated,  both  exclusions  and 
inclusions  of  the  term  are  undefined. 

This  great  stock  of  Indians  employ  both  structures,  the  woven  and 
the  coiled.  The  twined  weave  of  all  kinds  is  used  in  the  conodial 
basket  hats,  the  baskets,  jars  and  bottles,  the  roasting  trays  and  wands. 
The  coiled  and  whipped  structure  is  used  in  pitched  water  bottles, 
trays,  and  bowls.  The  hat  is  a  conical  basket  made  of  splints,  the 
warp  radiating  from  the  apex,  the  woof  splints  being  carried  around 
and  twined  in  pairs,  generally  in  diagonal  weave.  The  woof  is  not  so 
thoroughly  driven  home  as  in  softer  and  more  pliant  material,  but 
remains  open  so  as  to  have  the  appearance  of  the  osier  weaving  of  the 
East.  Simple  ornamentation  is  produced  by  using  one  or  more  rows 
of  red  or  black  splints  in  elementary  geometric  patterns. 

Roasting  trays  are  shaped  like  a  scoop  rimmed  with  a  large  twig. 
The  warp  is  made  of  parallel  twigs  laid  close  together  and  held  in 
place  by  diagonal  twining.  The  Shoshonean  tribes  place  seeds  of  wild 
plants  in  these  trays  with  hot  stones,  and  thus  roast  them.  Some 
specimens  are  much  charred  on  the  upper  side.  In  the  Ute  country 
could  be  seen  Indian  women  gathering  seeds  in. conical  baskets,  beat 
ing  the  heads  with  a  spoon-shaped  wand  toward  the  basket  held  in  the 
left  hand  with  its  mouth  just  under  the  plants.  These  baskets  are  con 
structed  in  every  respect  like  the  conoidal  hats  and  the  fans  are  made 
of  twigs  coarsely  woven  on  the  same  pattern. 

The  water  bottles  of  the  Shoshonean  tribes  on  the  other  hand  belong 
to  the  coiled  and  whipped  structure.  As  before  mentioned,  this  style 
can  l>e  made  coarse  or  fine,  according  to  the  material  and  the  size  of 
the  coil  and  the  outer  thread.  If  twigs  not  of  uniform  thickness  are 
carried  around'  in  the  coil,  the  stitch  will  be  hatchy  and  open;  but  if 
one  is  larger  than  the  other,  or  if  }Tucca  or  other  fiber  replace  the 
upper  and  narrower  sewing  material  be  used,  the  texture  will  be 
much  finer.  These  bottles  differ  in  shape — one  class  has  round  bot 
toms,  another  long  pointed  bottoms;  one  has  W7ide  mouths,  another 


490 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 


small  mouths;  one  class  has  a  little  osier  handle  on  the  side  of  the 
mouth  like  a  pitcher,  but  the  majority  have  one  or  two  loops  of  wood, 
horsehair,  or  osier  fastened  on  one  side  for  carrying.  All  of  them 
are  quite  heavy,  having*been  dipped  in  pitch.  The  same  form  is  found 
among  the  Apache,  Mohave,  Hopi,  and  Rio  Grande  pueblos,  but  it 
is  not  improbable  that  the^y  were  obtained  from  the  Ute.  These 
bottle-shaped  baskets  are  used  for  small  granaries  as  well — to  hold 
seed  and  keep  them  away  from  vermin. 

The  basket  trays  of  the  Ute  do  not  differ  essentially  in  general 
style  from  those  of  the  Gila  River  or  California  tribes,  but  they  are 
much  coarser.  Among  the  coiled  basket  trays  in  the  collection 
accredited  to  the  Ute  are  indeed  two  styles,  but  one  of  them  resembles 
so  much  those  of  their  Apache  neighbors  on  the  south  as  to  raise  the 
suspicion  that  they  were  obtained  by  barter. 


FIG.  179. 

WOMAN'S  HAT. 

Ute  Indians,  Utah. 

Cat.  No.  11838.    Collected  by  J.  W.  Powell. 


The  typical  styles  here  mentioned,  as  well  as  interesting  variations, 
will  be  best  understood  from  examples. 

The  National  Museum  has  a  rare  old  collection  of  Ute  or  Shoshonean 
material,  of  which  A.  H.  Thompson  writes  that  of  the  baskets  and 
other  articles  of  Indian  manufacture  gathered  by  the  Powell  expedi 
tions  between  1870  and  1875  the  greater  part,  probably  nine-tenths, 
were  secured  from  the  Kaivavits  at  Kaibab  and  the  Shivwits  about 
St.  George,  southern  Utah,  and  the  Moapas  about  St.  Thomas,  south 
eastern  Nevada.  These  clans  all  belong  to  the  Paiute  Nation.  The 
articles  secured  from  the  Ute  were  from  the  Gosiute  about  Deep 
Creek  in  western  Utah  and  the  Uinta  Ute  on  the  Uinta  Reservation. 
By  far  the  larger  part  of  the  Paiute  collection  was  from  the  Kaiva 
vits.  Much  of  the  clothing  (buckskin  and  rabbit  fur)  and  many  of 
the  baskets  were  made  by  the  Indians  working  under  the  direction  or 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


491 


rather  observation  of  Mrs.  E.  P.  Thompson,  the  endeavor  being  to 
have  the  work  done  by  the  methods  employed  before  the  coming  of 
the  whites  and  by  the  older  people  of  the  clan. 

Fig.  179  is  a  hat  of  a  Lite  Indian  woman,  in  diagonal  twined  work. 
The  warp  stems  converge  at  the  top  and  additional  ones  are  added  as 
the  texture  widens.  The  weft  splints  are 
twined  so  as  to  include  the  vertical  warp 
twigs  in  pairs.  On  the  next  round  the 
warp  elements  are  again  inclosed  in  pairs, 
but  not  in  corresponding  ones  to  those  of 
the  row  underneath.  The  lines  of  weft 
elements  ascend  diagonally  and  a  twilled 
effect  is  produced  on  the  surface.  This 
form  of  twining  must  not  be  confounded 
with  three-ply  twine  around  the  border 
which  has  a  somewhat  similar  appearance, 
but  is  so  close  that  the  warp  stems  do  not 
show.  The  border  of  this  Ute  basket  is 
ingeniously  made.  First,  the  projecting 
warp  elements  were  bent  and  whipped  in 
place  with  splints  to  form  the  body  of  the 
rim;  on  the  top  of  this  the  weaker  has 
sewed  an  ornamental  false  braid  catching 
the  splint  into  the  bent  warp  stems  under 
neath.  The  ornamentation  on  the  outside 
is  produced  by  three-strand  monochrome 
or  dichrome  weaving.  TheUtes  are  skill 
ful  in  various  methods  of  technic.  but  the 
materials  in  which  they  work  are  coarse 
and  rigid,  giving  a  rough  appearance  to 
the  surface.  The  hats  are  used  also  as 
receptacles,  so  that  the  terms  top  and 
bottom  are  only  relative  to  function. 

Fig.  180  is  a  harvesting  fan  of  the 
Paiutes  made  of  small  stems,  split  or 
whole,  and  bound  together  with  various 
fiber,  the  manual  portion  being  wrapped 
with  softer  material.  This  very  coarse 
specimen  is  represented  in  other  tribes, 
especially  on  the  western  side  of  the  Sierras,  by  finely  woven,  spoon- 
shaped  harvesting  wands.  It  is  Catalogue  No.  11823  in  the  U.  S. 
National  Museum,  collected  in  Utah  by  J.  W.  Powell. 

Fig.  181  is  a  pair  of  harvesting  fans  of  the  Paiute  Indians  in  southern 
Utah.  A  bundle  of  rods  is  fastened  together  to  form  the  grip  of  the 
fan.  the  other  ends  of  these  rods  are  then  spread  out  and  afterwards 


FIG.  180. 

HARVESTING  FAN. 

Paiute  Indians,  Utah. 

Cat.  No.  11823,  U.S.N.M.    Collected  by  J.  W. 


492 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 


brought  together  to  a  poiiit,  at  the  same  time  bent  downward  in  spoon 
form  for  a  warp.  These  are  held  in  place  by  a  continuous  twined 
weaving  backward  and  forward,  the  rows  being  at  irregular  intervals. 
Near  the  end  the  points  are  held  together  by  compact  twined  weaving. 
The  border  is  made  by  coiled  work  built  up  on  a  pair  of  strong  rods. 
These  interesting  objects  are  not  confined,  as  will  be  seen,  to  the  lite 
Indians,  but  all  the  tribes  in  California,  Nevada,  and  Arizona  that 
depend  upon  the  smaller  seeds  for  their  sustenance  have  the  same 
method  of  beating1  the  ripe  grass  into  a  conical  carrying  basket.  The 
fans  of  this  type,  perhaps,  form  the  very  earliest  harvesting  device. 

Associated  with  the  harvesting  fan  is  the  gathering  and  carrying 
basket  and  the  roasting  or  winnowing  tray. 

Catalogue  Nos.  11817, 11822  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  procured 
in  Utah  by  J.  W.  Powell. 


Fin. 181. 

HARVESTING    FANS. 

I'aiute  Indians,  Utah. 
Collected  l.y  J.  W.  Powell. 


Figs.  182  to  184  illustrate  a  gathering  basket  of  the  Paint e  Indians. 
The  first,  fig.  182,  represents  the  entire  structure  which  is  at  basis 
open-twined  work.  The  noticeable  feature  about  this  piece  is  the 
treatment  of  the  warp,  which,  instead  of  rising  perpendicularly  from 
the  bottom  to  the  top,  is  twisted  to  the  left,  each  radial  element  of  the 
warp  making  about  one-fourth  of  a  turn  from  the  vertical.  Again, 
the  technic  is  diagonal  weaving  in  twined  work.  The  diverting  of  the 
warp  from  the  vertical  is  not  common  in  twined  weaving,  but  occurs 
quite  frequently  in  this  area  and  among  this  family. 

Fi<r.  183  "-ivos  a  good   notion  of  the  wav  in  which  the  bottom  is 

£">  i"5  c~)  *; 

started.  Four  pairs  of  warp  sterns  constitute  the  base.  These  are  held 
in  place  by  very  coarse  twined  weaving.  The  ends  of  the  stems  are 
bent  up  to  become  the  warp  of  the  body.  The  upper  border  of  the 
basket  shows  how  the  warp  stems  are  bent  down  to  the  left;  a  bundle 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


493 


of  splints  laid  on  top  and  sewed  as 
the  top  of  this  a  stout  rod  is 
sewed  by  another  turn  of  the 
same  process,  so  that  both 
coiled  Avork  and  twined 
work  are  to  be  seen  in  this 
coarse  bit  of  eveiyday  ware. 

This  specimen,  catalogue 
No.  14688  in  the  U.  S.  Na 
tional  Museum,  was  col 
lected  in  Utah  by  J.  W. 
Powell. 

Fig.  185  is  a  harvesting 
and  carrying  basket  of  the 
Paiutes  in  diagonal  twined 
weaving,  precisely  as  in 
lig.  179  representing  a  Ute 
woman's  hat,  and  tig.  180 
the  fanning  tray.  The  bot 
tom  is  covered  with  hide  to 
protect  it  and  on  the  side  is 
fastened  a  headband  used  in 
carrying.  The  ornamenta 
tion  on  many  Ute  specimens 
seems  to  have  been  effected 
by  charring,  since  the 
figures  do  not  appear  on 
the  inside  at  all. 


in  coiled  weaving1  (tig.  184:).     On 


FIG.  182. 

GATHERING   BASKET. 

Paiute  Indians,  Utah. 
Cat.  No.  14688,  U.S.N.M.     Collected  Iiy  J. 


The  Ute  Indians  make  use  of  many  kinds  of  seed 

The 


in  their  dietary. 
women  go  out  into  the 
plains  with  this  carrying  bas 
ket  and  the  fan,  illustrated  in 
lig.  181.  The  apex  of  the  car 
rying  basket  is  rested  on  the 
ground  and  the  seeds  are  beaten 
into  it  by  means  of  the  gather 
ing  fan.  When  the  basket  is 
full  the  woman  places  the  band 
across  her  forehead,  rests  the 
receptacle  on  her  back,  and 
trudges  home  with  her  load. 
Catalogue  Nos.  14667  to 
14746  in  the  U.  S.  National  Mu 
seum  were  procured  in  Utah  by 
J.  W.  Powell. 
Fig.  186  is  called  a  roasting  or  fanning  tray  of  the  Paiutes,  being 


FIG.  183. 
BOTTOM   OP  FH 


494 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 


used  for  the  purpose  of  separating  the  chaff  from  the  seeds  which  have 
been  gathered  either  by  blowing  or  roasting.  The  warp  is  a  lot  of 
twigs  spread  out  like  a  fan.  The  weaving  begins  at  the  inner  or  manual 

end, which  is  the  bottom  of  the 
illustration,  with  short  curves 
and  progresses  by  ever  widen 
ing  roAvs  to  the  outer  margin. 
The  rim  is  produced  by  a  dou 
ble  row  of  coiled  and  whipped 
work.  The  whole  surface  is 
very  rough  by  reason  of  the 
nature  of  the  material  which 
these  people  living  in  a  desert 
region  have  to  use. 
This  specimen,  catalogue  No.  11857  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum, 
was  collected  in  Utah  by  J.  W.  Powell. 

Fig.  187  is  a  coiled  seed  jar  of  the  Paiute  Indians.     It  belongs  to 
the  type  of  coiled  work  called  two-rod;  that  is,  the  foundation  of  the 


FIG.  184. 


BORDER   OF   FIG.  182. 


FIG.  185. 

CARRYING  BASKET. 

Paiute  Indians,  Utah. 

Cat.  No.  14667,  U.S.N.M.     Collected  by  J.  W.  Powell. 


coil  work  consists  of  two  stems,  one  above  the  other,  the  stitches  pass 
around  these  two  and  under  one  of  the  foundation  underneath  and  inter 
lock.  Baskets  of  this  kind  are  frequently  dipped  into  hot  gum  or 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


495 


pitch  of  some  kind,  varying1  in  different  localities.  The  peculiar  effect 
of  this  sort  of  weaving  is  to  hide  one  of  the  rods  in  the  foundation  and 
to  reveal  the  other.  Frequently,  the  upper  one  in  each  pair  is  smaller, 
and  by  driving  the  stitches  close  home  a  tolerably  close  and  very  endur 
ing  structure  is  the  result. 

Pottery  was  made  by  the  ancient  Utes,  but  is  not  now  common.  The 
basket  bottle  is  much  more  useful  and  enduring.  A  square  inch  from 
the  surface  of  this  bottle  is  shown  in  fig.  188. 

Catalogue  No.  11202  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  was  collected 
by  J.  W.  Powell,  together  with  Nos.  11249  to  11261. 


FIG.  186. 

ROASTING  TRAY. 

Paiute  Indians,  Utah. 
Cat.  No.  11857,  U.S.N.M.    Collected  by  J.  W.  Powell. 

Plate  204  presents  two  figures  from  different  localities,  but  having 
essentially  the  same  form,  structure,  and  function.  That  on  the  left, 
catalogue  No.  19029  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  is  a  fine  old  water 
jar  made  by  a  Coyuwee  Paiute  woman,  Pyramid  Lake,  Nevada,  secured 
by  Stephen  Powers.  It  is  a  model  of  uniformity  in  technic.  The 
twilled  weaving  in  twined  technic  is  laid  up  as  regularly  as  brickwork. 
There  is  no  attempt  at  ornament,  either  in  color  or  variety  in  weav 
ing.  The  pine  gum  is  applied  so  carefully  that  it  does  not  hide  but 
emphasizes  the  workmanship.  The  lugs  are  of  braided  horsehair.  Its 
height  is  15  inches. 

The  right-hand  figure,  No.  2610,  is  labeled  ''Pueblo  Indians,"  but 


496 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 


it  was  evidently  made  by  a  Ute  woman.  The  pitch  has  worn  off  suf 
ficiently  to  reveal  the  process  of  making  the  other.  Note,  first,  the 
twilled  weaving  in  openwork.  The  twists  of  the  weft  each  include 
two  of  the  warp  stems.  On  the  next  round  the  same  two  are  not 
included;  they  are  separated  to  be  joined  again  in  the  next  row  above. 
Now,  if  the  woman  had  pressed  her  weft  close  home,  she  would  have 
produced  exactly  the  same  effect  as  may  be  seen  on  the  left-hand  fig 
ure,  a  close  twill.  Observe,  however,  that  at  the  widest  part  of  the 
body  she  has  introduced  one  round  of  three-strand  twine.  Two  rows 


FIG.  187. 

COILED  JAR. 

Paiute  Indians,  Utah. 

Cat.  No.  11262.  U.S.N.M.     Collected  by  J.  W.  Powell. 


of  the  same  form  the  lower  boundary  of  the  neck,  which  is  done  care 
lessly  in  plain  weaving.     Collected  by  W.  L.  Hardesty. 

Nordenskjold  found  in  the  cliff  dwellings  of  the  southwestern  United 
States: 

1.  Checker  work  in  heavy,  coarse  sandals. 

2.  Wickerwork.     This  may  be  seen  also  in  Hopi  basketry. 

8.  Diagonal  or  twilled  weaving,  common  in  Hopi  pueblo  especially. 

4.  Matting  of  rod  strung  on  twine.     Apache  now  use  it.     (See  fig. 
103.) 

5.  Braiding  in  the  round.      In  lariats.    • 

6.  Twined  weaving  in  many  forms. 


\ 

ABORIGINAL    AMEEIC 


497 


on 


es.     (Compare 


7.  Three-rod  coil  foundation  (Baui-shi- 

8.  Coiled  network,  the  spirals  twisted 
Muskernoot,  Plate  102.) 

(«).   Sandals  with  knots  of  various  patterns  in  the  lacing. 

In  a  paper  by  Dr.  George  H.  Pepper, a  attention  is  called  to  a  cliff 
people  formerly  living  in  Grand  Gulch  region  of  southeastern  Utah 
called  the  "Basket  Makers/'  They  are  shown  to  have  worn  beautiful 
robes  of  feathers  and  of  rabbit  skins  woven,  and  sandals  of  yucca  fiber 
squared  in  front,  and  to  have  had  little  or  no  pottery.  They  fought 
with  "atlatls"  rather  than  bows,  and  hunted  with  the  Hopi  rabbit 
stick.  Most  interesting  of  all,  they  lived  in  caves,  but  not  in  stone 
houses.  In  some  of  the  caves  the  houses  of  the  Cliff  Dwellers  have  been 
found  overlying  the  remains  of  the  earlier  Basket  Makers.  Finally, 
the  bodies  of  the  dead  were  doubled  up, 
placed  at  the  bottom  of  potholes  or  gran 
aries,  some  of  which  were  lined  with 
baked  clay,  covered  with  robes  and  finally 
with  baskets,  either  several  small  ones 
or  one  large  carrying  basket.  The  last- 
named  feature  is  said  to  have  been  almost 
invariably  in  evidence,  and  it  is  to  this 
that  attention  is  here  given.  The  mate 
rial  is  willow,  the  designs  on  the  baskets 
being  in  splints  of  black  or  a  peculiar  dull 
red.  The  bottoms  of  the  carrying  baskets 
were  reenforced  with  heavy  yucca  cord. 
The  borders  were  finished  with  the  ordinary  coiled  stitch,  but  in  some 
the  last  inch  or  two  are  finished  off  with  false  braid  or  herringbone. 

One  example  of  Dr.  Pepper's,  called  openwork  or  sifter  basket,  has 
a  single  rod  foundation  and  the  wrapping  at  one  turn  passes  around 
the  foundation  only;  at  the  next  it  is  drawn  under  the  rod  in  tlmcoil 
below  and  returning  is  wrapped  about  itself  or  "the  standing  part," 
as  the  sailors  say.  The  ordinary  Japanese  lunch  baskets,  Samoan 
basket  work,  and  those  from  the  Straits  of  Magellan  are  on  the  same 
plan.  But  it  is  certainty  a  rare  sight  in  this  part  of  the  world.  (See 
Plate  317.) 

Plates  205  and  206  are  from  the  Pepper  collection  of  coiled  basketry 
from  the  caves  of  the  ancient  Basket  Makers.  The  particular  speci 
mens  will  be  described  under  separate  photographs  of  each  one,  but 
the  group  shows  both  the  forms  and  functions  of  the  material  gathered 
in  this  interesting  locality. 

«The  Ancient  Basket  Makers  of  Southeastern  Utah,  Guide  Leaflet  No.  6  of  the 
American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  New  York,  1-902. 

NAT   MUS   1902 32 


FIG.  188. 
SQUARE  INCH  OF  FIG.  187. 


498  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

Plate  207  is  a  coiled  tray,  having  as  design  two  circles  of  figures 
resembling  aquatic  birds  floating  on  the  water.  This  is  an  excellent 
opportunity  to  speculate  about  the  relation  of  this  desert  region  with 
prayers  to  the  water  god. 

Plate  208  is  another  coiled  tray  from  the  cave  dwellers,  with  an 
ornamental  design,  showing  two  sinuous  rings  in  black. 

Plate  201)  contains  two  bowls  apparently  with  the  three-rod  coil; 
such  is  now  common  among  the  best  basket  makers  of  California. 
The  ornamentation  is  also  suggestive  of  the  same  locality.  On  the 
upper  figure  are  four  radial  designs  triangular  in  outline,  two  haying 
their  bases  at  the  bottom  and  two  on  the  outer  border,  each  pattern 
made  up  of  fringe  work  of  triangles,  reminding  one  of  the  strings  of 
arrowhead  patterns  mentioned  by  Dr.  Dixon  in  his  pamphlet  on  the 
Maidu.  The  lower  figure  is  similarly  constructed  in  coiled  weaving, 
the  ornamentation  being  in  circular  patterns;  the  bottom  is  plain; 
then  follow  narrow  rings  in  black,  a  broad  ring  in  white,  a  broad 
band  with  seven  triangular  rays,  a  narrow  band  in  black,  and  a  broad 
band  in  the  natural  color  of  the  wood. 

Plate  210  is  interesting  as  showing  the  function  of  the  baskets  which 
were  found  in  the  Utah  cave.  All  of  them  have  relation  •- to  food. 
They  are  in  twilled  and  coiled  weaving  and  show  how  in  ancient  times 
the  basket  entered  into  the  service  of  these  agricultural  Indians. 

Plate  211  shows  a  mortar  basket  of  the  ancient  basket  makers  in 
coiled  weaving  on  splint  foundation.  It  is  not  possible  to  determine 
the  material  of  the  stitches.  It  is  IB  inches  in  diameter  and  3i  inches 
deep.  The  interior  is  coated  with  meal  and  the  surface  of  the  sewing 
is  worn  through  from  long  use.  Mortar  baskets  are  common  among 
the  California  tribes,  both  in  twined  weaving  and  in  coiled  work.  A 
specimen  quite  similar  to  the  one  here  shown  in  the  U.  S.  National 
Museum  has  a  coiled  basket  top,  cemented  to  the  shallow  mortar  stone 
underneath  by  means  of  pitch.  The  specimens  are  in  the  collection  of 
the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History. 

Pepper  describes  four  varieties  of  sandals  among  the  ancient  Cliff 
Dwellers — thin  soles  in  twilled  weaving  from  narrow  leaves  of  yucca; 
those  made  of  broad  leaves  split;  a  padded  variety  made  from  the  same 
leaves  shredded;  and  an  exceedingly  fine  kind,  of  spun  fiber  and  worked 
into  elegant  patterns.  In  these  last  the  warp  is  in  two  or  more  layers 
or  plies,  so  that  the  body  is  thick  and  durable.  He  quotes  Richard 
Witherill  to  the  effect  that  while  the  chamber-building  Cliff  Dwellers 
wove  the  sandal  with  pointed  toes  and  a  jog  or  step  a  few  inches  from 
the  toe,  those  of  the  Basket  Makers  were  square  in  front.  McLoyd 
and  Graham  a  assert  that  square-toed  sandals  were  made  by  the  people 
that  inhabited  the  underground  rooms,  since  they  are  found  only  with 

«  Guide  Leaflet,  No.  6,  of  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  New  York. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  499 

mummies  of  that  race.  No  square-toed  sandals  are  found  in  caves 
where  remains  of  the  basketmakers  do  not  exist. 

The  term  Pueblo  basketmaker  is  far  from  specific.  It  applies  to 
women  of  all  the  settled  villages  in  New  Mexico  and  Arizona,  from  Taos 
on  the  Rio  Grande,  in  the  former,  to  the  Hopi  in  Arizona.  The  peo 
ples  belong  to  the  Tafioan  and  Keresan  families  on  the  Rio  Grande,  to 
the  Zunian  in  western  New  Mexico,  and  the  Hopian  or  Shoshonean  in 
Arizona." 

Far  back  in  time  those  structures  whose  ruins  furnish  inexhaustible 
supplies  of  pottery  and  some  textiles  have  to  tell  the  tale  as  to  the 
ancient  types  of  basketry.  At  the  present  moment  great  confusion 
exists  concerning  the  ethnic  significance  of  basketry  in  the  pueblos. 
Beautiful  old  pieces  came  twent}^  years  or  more  ago  from  these  villages 
about  which  there  is  little  information.  James  Stevenson  wrote  then 
that  the  women  of  the  villages  were  fond  of  securing  in  trade  and 
hoarding  rare  forms  and  weaves.  The  best  that  can  be  now  done  is  to 
classify  Pueblo  basketry  as  follows: 

(1)  What  the  women  are  actually  making  and  old  material  precisely 
like  it. 

(2)  Specimens  dug  from  sites  of  old  pueblos  and  carefully  labeled. 

(3)  Old  materials  stored  up  in  the  modern  pueblos,  handed  down 
from  the  past,  whose  authorship  is  not  known. 

If  all  this  material  could  be  assembled  a  variety  of  technical  proc 
esses  would  be  revealed,  some  of  them  common  over  wide  areas  and 
a  few  characteristic  of  the  pueblo  culture.  The  following  weaves  are 
among  the  list: 

(1)  Checker  weaving,  rare. 

(2)  Wicker  weaving,  coarse  and  fine. 

(3)  Twilled  work,  in  hard  stems  and  in  yucca. 

(1)  Twined  work  of  many  kinds  on  old  baskets.  Thought  to  be 
intrusive. 

(5)  Coiled  work  with  foundation  of  stems,  splints,  grass,  and 
shredded  leaves.  The  fine  wicker  and  the  thick  coiled  plaques  are 
peculiar.  The  great  variety  mentioned  is  quite1  as  much  between 
pueblos  as  between  these  and  tribes  outside.  The  Hopi  are  note 
worthy  in  this  regard,  having  in  their  hands  the  making  of  the  two 
unique  kinds  of  weave  in  their  sacred  meal  plaques.  A  better  insight 
into  these  differences  will  be  gained  by  an  examination  of  specimens. 

Plate  212  represents  two  ancient  coiled  basket  jars  collected  at  the 
pueblo  of  Sia,  on  the  Jemez  River,  a  tributary  of  the  Rio  Grande  in 
New  Mexico.  The  Indians  of  this  pueblo  belong  to  the  Keresan 
family.  The  characteristics  to  be  observed  and  studied  on  these  speci- 

« For  a  list  of  pueblos  see  Seventh  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology, 
under  the  words  Keresan,  Shoshonean,  Tafioan,  and  Zunian;  for  ruins  see  bibliog 
raphy  under  Fewkes,  Hough,  Ream,  Mindeleff. 


500  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 

mens  arc  the  following:  The  foundation  is  of  splints,  the  sewing  is 
done  with  willow  or  rhus,  and  the  stitches  are  just  barely  carried 
around  a  small  portion  of  the  foundation  underneath  where  they  are 
interlocked.  Note  also  that  the  ornamentation — an  ascending  spiral — 
is  in  one  case  a  rhombic  figure  and  in  the  other  is  built  up  of  little 
rectangles  formed  by  counting  stitches,  which  may  be  few  or  many, 
as  the  curve  on  the  body  of  the  basket  expands  or  contracts.  This 
mingling  of  very  simple  elementary  forms  is  capable  of  an  infinite 
variety  in  treatment. 

The  attention  of  the  student  is  especially  called  to  the  margins  of 
these  baskets,  which  appear  to  be  in  a  three-strand  plait;  but  they  are 
really  done  in  a  single  splint  which  passes  backward  over  the  founda 
tion,  then  under  and  forward,  inclosing  the  rod  underneath,  forming 
a  figure  of  8,  and  the  multiplication  of  this  produces  on  the  surface 
the  braided  appearance.  For  detail,  see  page  276,  fig.  87.  Catalogue 
Nos.  18421-t,  184215.  Collected  by  James  Stevenson. 

Although  there  may  be  seen  at  the  pueblo  of  Zuni  all  sorts  of 
baskets,  the  most  of  them  include  pitched  bottles  for  water,  coiled  and 
whipped  tnvvs,  Hopi-coiled  and  wicker-basket  trays,  but  it  is  not  to 
be  understood  that  they  were  necessarily  made  there.  The  only  work 
made  by  the  Zuni  nowadaj^s  is  their  small,-  rough  peach  baskets,  of 
twigs  and  wickervvork,  hardly  worthy  of  notice  except  for  their  ugli 
ness  and  simplicity.  Those  who  arc  familiar  with  this  interesting 
tribe  of  Indians  say  that  trading  is  a  passion  with  them,  and  that 
through  their  agricultural  products  and  their  refined  loom  work  they 
are  able  to  gratify  this  taste  among  the  surrounding  tribes  for  old 
basketry. 

Plate  218  shows  some  old  so-called  Zuni  ware,  collected  for  the 
Bureau  of  American  Ethnology  by  James  Stevenson  in  New  Mexico 
long  ago. 

Fig.  1  is  a  wicker  basket,  globular  form.  The  warp  consists  of  a 
number  of  stems  of  Chrysothamnus  laid  flat.  The  weft  of  the  same 
material  is  in  wickerwork,  the  border  being  fastened  down  in  coiled 
sewing  with  yucca  leaf.  Handle,  a  rawhide  thong.  Used  by  these 
Indians  in  gathering  fruit  and  other  food  substances.  Height,  8  inches. 
Cat.  No.  68603,  U.S.N.M. 

Fig.  2  is  a  jar-shaped  basket  of  Chrysothamnus  (Bigelovia)  splints. 
The  warp  is  radiating  at  the  bottom  and  parallel  on  the  body;  the 
whole  basket  is  made  in  twilled  style  of  twined  weaving  over  two. 
The  border  is  not  finished  off.  The  handle  is  a  rawhide  thong  around 
the  neck.  This  is  a  very  coarse  specimen  of  twined  work.  The 
height  is  8  inches.  Cat.  No.  68480,  U.S.N.M. 

Fig.  8  is  a  rare  and  interesting  specimen  of  twined  basket  jar. 
The  bottom  has  radiating  warp  and  is  in  coarse  twilled  weaving,  but 
the  body  from  the  bottom  to  the  upper  margin  is  plain,  twined  weav- 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  501 

ing,  without  variation.  There  is  not  in  the  National  Museum  collec 
tion  from  this  Pueblo  region  another  basket  in  which  the  whole  body 
is  treated  in  this  monotonous  manner.  Its  height  is  8-J-  inches.  Cat. 
No.  68513,  U.S.N.M. 

Fig.  4  is  a  water-tight  jar  from  the  Zuni  Indians.  The  whole  sur 
face  of  the  object  is  in  twilled  type  of  twined  weaving  and  well  satu 
rated  in  pitch.  The  characteristic  feature  is  the  lugs  of  wood  on  the 
side  for  the  carrying  strap,  and  flattening  of  the  surface  between  these 
lugs,  as  in  a  canteen.  This  is  partially  shown  in  the  photographs,  but 
is  quite  apparent  on  the  jar  itself.  Its  height  is  9  inches.  Cat.  No. 
68515,  U.S.N.M. 

Fig.  5  is  a  water-tight  basket  jar  constricted  in  the  middle  for  the 
attachment  of  a  carrying  strap.  The  whole  surface  is  in  coarse 
twilled  weaving  in  two-strand  twine  with  the  exception  of  one  row  be 
tween  the  bottom  and  the  body,  which  is  in  three-strand.  The  constric 
tion  of  the  body  is  said  to  be  an  imitation  of  a  custom  of  t}7ing  rag 
around  the  young  gourd  so  as  to  stop  its  growth,  which  results  in  a 
moditication,  useful  for  holding  the  carrying  strap.  Its  height  is 
9  inches.  Cat.  No.  68541,  U.S.N.M. 

Fig.  6  is  a  water-tight  basket  jar  from  the  Zuni  Indians,  symmetrical 
in  outline.  It  is  in  the  twilled  type  of  twined  weaving,  with  wooden 
lugs  on  the  side  and  no  flattening  of  surface  between  them.  Its  height 
is  U  inches.  Cat.  No.  68502,  U.S.N.M. 

Fig.  T  is  a  gathering  basket  from  the  Zuni  Indians.  The  weaving 
on  the  bottom  and  the  body  is  in  the  twilled  type  of  twined  work; 
the  neck,  on  the  contrary,  has  about  an  inch  of  plain  twined  weaving 
and  is  finished  off  with  four  rows  of  three-strand  twine.  The  border 
is  in  coiled  sewing  of  yucca.  This  specimen,  like  the  preceding,  is 
made  from  the  stems  of  Chrysothamnus.  Its  height  is  7i  inches.  Cat. 
No.  68491,  U.S.N.M. 

Fig.  8  is  a  gathering  basket  from  the  Zuni  Indians.  The  bottom  is 
in  twilled  twined  work;  the  body  is  in  plain  twined  work  relieved  at 
varying  distances  with  single  rows  of  three-ply  weaving;  border  fin 
ished  off  with  coiled  work  in  yucca.  Its  height  is  6  inches. 

The  Zuni  pueblos  in  western  New  Mexico  lie  in  the  very  heart  of 
the  desert  region.  On  the  east  are  the  Rio  Grande  pueblos,  on  the 
northwest  the  Mold,  and  far  to  the  south  the  Gila  River.  Beside 
the  settled  communities  long  inhabiting  this  region,  the  Navaho  and 
Apache  are  close  at  hand  on  every  side,  and  the  Utes  are  not  far  away. 
There  is  no  surprise,  therefore,  in  finding  on  the  same  plate  illustra 
tions  of  wickerwork,  twined  work  in  its  many  varieties  of  plain 
twilled  and  three-strand  work,  and  all  of  these  at  times  on  the  same 
piece  of  basketry. 

Plate  214  shows  a  rare  lot  of  old  coiled  baskets,  chiefly  from  Zuni 
and  Sia,  in  New  Mexico,  collected  under  the  direction  of  Major  J.  W. 


502  EEPOKT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

Powell,  by  James  Stevenson,  of  the  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology. 
They  appear  to  be  of  the  three-rod  variety,  though  splints  may  take 
the  place  of  rods  in  some  of  them.     They  are  catalogued  as  follows  in 
the  order  named: 
Top  row  — 

1.  No.  68471,  Zufii,  James  Stevenson;  length,  9^  inches. 

2.  No.  (38550,  Zufii,  James  Stevenson;  height,  4i  inches. 
H.  No.  68474,  Zufii,  James  Stevenson;  height,  7  inches. 

4.  No.  68472,  Zufii,  James  Stevenson;  height,  4f  inches. 

5.  No.  42140,  Zufii,  James  Stevenson;  height,  4i  inches. 
Bottom  row — 

1.  No.  68489,  Zufii,  James  Stevenson;  height,  4f  inches. 

2.  No.  166800,  Apache,  James  Mooney;   height,  8f  inches. 

3.  No.  134215,  Sia,  James  Stevenson;  diameter,  11^  inches. 

4.  No.  134214,  Sia,  James  Stevenson;  height,  12  inches. 

5.  No.  42168,  Zufii,  James  Stevenson;  height,  4  inches. 

A  jar-shaped  coiled  basket  attributed  by  the  collector  to  the  Zufii 
Indians  is  shown  in  tig.  189.  It  is  a  very  beautiful  and  smooth  piece 
of  coiled  ware,  to  which  justice  is  not  done  by  the  drawing.  In  regu 
larity  of  stitch,  symmetrical  shape,  and  ornamentation  it  is  almost 
without  fault.  It  belongs  to  the  class  of  technic  termed  in  this  treatise 
rod  and  welt.  The  foundation  consists  of  a  single  rod,  over  which  is 
laid  a  thin  splint,  perhaps  of  the  same  material.  The  stitch  passes 
over  rod  and  welt  in  the  row  that  is  in  progress  of  manufacture,  and 
not  only  locks  with  the  stitch  underneath  but  in  each  case  takes  up 
the  welt.  This  forms  an  excellent  packing.  The  stitches  are  crowded 
so  closely  together  that  in  the  original  those  of  the  different  rows  lie 
practically  one  over  the  other,  with  a  slight  inclination  from  the  per 
pendicular.  On  the  bottom,  not  shown  here,  it  has  a  circle  in  black 
from  Avhich  radiates  six  spiral  rays.  On  the  body  the  ornamentation 
is  as  shown  in  the  figure.  It  is  made  from  the  pod  of  Martynia  lottitt- 
iantt.  On  the  shoulder  two  lugs  of  leather  are  sewed  for  the  purpose 
of  carrying  the  jar,  being  intended,  doubtless,  for  the  transportation 
of  food  or  water.  It  is  customary  to  attribute  such  ware  to  the 
Apache  Indians,  although  in  the  National  Museum  there  are  quite  a 
number  of  very  old  coiled  jars  of  this  type  and  tine  workmanship 
purporting  to  come  from  the  Zufii  Indians.  This  specimen  was  got 
ten  by  Major  Powell,  one  of  the  most  careful  collectors,  so  that  there 
is  no  doubt  of  the  location.  It  is  possible,  however,  that  the  Zufii, 
since  they  are  potters,  may  have  acquired  this  coiled  specimen  in 
traffic. 

The  detail  of  this  texture,  both  in  its  sewing  and  ornamentation,  is 
illustrated  in  tig.  48,  also  by  Gushing". 


«  Fourth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  1886,  p.  486. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


503 


This  specimen,  Catalogue  No.  68546  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum, 
was  procured  in  New  Mexico  by  James  Stevenson.  Its  width  is  9  inches 
and  depth  10  inches. 

The  Hopi  pueblo  settlement,  called  also  Moki,  in  the  ancient  province 
of  Tusayan,  is  made  up  of  the  following-named  villages,  in  order  from 
east  to  west:  Walpi,  Ha/no  or  Te'wa,  Sichomovi,  Shipaulovi,  Mush- 
ongiinuvi,  Shumopavi,  Oraibi.  Here  in  these  seven  old  towns  are 


FIG.  189. 

COILED   BASKET  JAR. 

Zuiii  Indians,  New  Mexico. 

Cat.  No.  68f)46,  U.S.N.M.     Collected  by  J.  W.  Powell. 

made  all  kinds  of  basket  work.  From  Dr.  Walter  Hough  the  follow 
ing  information  is  received:  The  thick  North-African-like  coiled 
plaques  are  from  Mushongunuvi,  Shipaulovi,  and  Shumopavi,  all  on 
the  middle  mesa,  and  nowhere  else  in  the  Western  Hemisphere.  The 
material  for  the  foundation  is  stems  of  Takashu  (H'daria  jamesii), 
gathered  in  October.  The  sewing  is  done  with  narrow  strips  from 
the  leaves  of  Mohu  (Yucca  glauod)  in  the  natural  color  of  the  outside 


504  EEPOET    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 

or  the  interior,  or  nowadays  dyed  in  aniline  colors.  Formerly  vegetal 
d}Tes  were  employed,  red  brown  Ohaishi  (Thelesperma  gracile);  dark 
blue  from  seeds  of  Akaushi  (Helianthus  petiolaris)-,  }Tellow  from 
Asapzrani  (Carthamus  tinctorius)\  green  or  blue,  rarely  seen  on  old 
baskets.  The  following  are  their  terms  for  basketry. 

Apa,  blanket  mat.     (Anciently  made  in  checker  weaving.) 

Chu  ku  po  eta,  also  Chu  ku  bot  se  buh,  Havasupai. 

Shio  en  }Ta  puh,  Oraibi  wicker  tray. 

Du  tsi  ye,  or  Du  tsai  }^a,  sifting  basket. 

116  a  puh,  carrying  basket  (wicker  over  frame  of  bent  sticks  crossed). 

Kom  che,  awl  of  bone. 

Hush  tush  shum  pi,  or  Ko  tuc,  basket  for  parched  corn. 

Kwakii  iitshpi  (hay  cover),  twined  mat  for  kiva  hatch. 

Pek  ech  be,  piki  tray  (food  tray). 

Po  eta,  basket  plaque  (coiled). 

Se  boch  be  (Oraibi  basket). 

Tfimni,  flat  basket  in  Soyalana  rites. 

Wiko  zhro,  pitched  bottle. 

Plate  215  is  the  portrait  of  Kuchyeampsi,  the  Mushongunuvi  weaver 
of  coiled  plaques.  Figures  and  colored  plates  of  this  ware  are  shown. 
(See  Plates  30,  47,  85,  93.)  Photographed  by  George  Wharton  James. 

Wicker  baskets  are  made  at  the  Hopi  pueblo,  Oraibi.  The  radiat 
ing  framework  is  of  slender  shoots  of  siibi,  Rhus  trilobata.  The 
interwoven  element  is  of  branches  of  hanoshivapi,  Ghrysothamnus 
yraveolens,  also  called  Bigelovia,  carefully  smoothed  and  dyed,, as  in  the 
coiled  baskets,  red  brown,  red,  yellow,  dark  blue,  purple,  green, 
blue  and  white,  the  latter  with  kaolin. 

The  white  of  the  background  is  applied  after  the  basket  is  finished. 
The  edge  of  the  basket  is  finished  with  a  winding  of  }7ucca  over  the 
several  rods  of  rhus  bent  down  after  the  basket  has  reached  the  size 
required.  This  edge  is  often  painted  with  red  ocher  (Hough).  The 
framework  consists  of  two  cross  sets  of  twigs,  four  or  more  in  a  bar 
of  the  cross.  These  are  firmly  held  together  at  their  intersection  by 
weaving.  They  are  then  spread  out  radially,  the  space  being  from 
time  to  time  supplemented  by  additional  stems.  The  worker  pro 
vides  herself  with  bunches  of  white,  yellow,  orange,  purple,  black, 
blue,  and  green  twigs  only  a  few  inches  in  length.  These  she  proceeds 
to  weave  into  patterns  of  the  greatest  beauty,  even  imitating  cloud 
effects  seen  on  Japanese  screens,  using  long  or  short  twigs  as  the 
occasion  demands,  hiding  the  ends  between  the  ribs  and  the  filling  of 
the  preceding  coils.  (See  Plate  216.) 

The  variety  of  ornament  created  with  these  poor  appliances  is 
marvelous.  In  no  other  tribe  of  Indians  and  in  no  other  type  of 
basketry  are  more  striking  effects  realized,  it  seems  almost  as 
though  the  women  had  set  themselves  the  problem  of  producing  with 
the  least  pliable  materials  the  irost  versatile  of  effects,  in  which  are 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETKY.  505 

embodied  the  symbols  of  an  intricate  ritual,  in  all  grades  of  symbolism 
from  the  pictograph  to  the  mere  conventional  mathematical  scene. 
Both,  however,  represent  the  same  ideas.  Under  the  influence  of 
trade  the  ancient  patterns  are  really  mosaics  and  could  be  picked  out. 
It  will  be  easily  seen  that  the  figures  on  the  back  and  front  do  not 
exactly  conform,  the  corresponding  square  on  the  back  being  always 
one  space  to  the  right  or  left  of  the  same  in  front. 

Attention  is  called  at  this  point  to  the  ornamental  beginning  of  the 
wicker  plaque,  or  sacred  meal  baskets.  In  the  chapter  on  structure 
attention  is  directed  to  the  methods  of  holding  the  central  warp  stems 
together  before  bending  them  apart  radially.  Two  methods  are 
resorted  to.  On  one,  half  a  dozen  or  more  stems  are  laid  side  by  side 
and  wrapped  together  by  a  process  shown  in  fig.  38,  after  Miss 
White.  The  same  number  of  stems  are  similarly  joined  and  laid 
under  this  at  right  angles,  the  whole  twelve  being  bound  together  by 
one  or  two  rows  of  wicker  weaving.  From  this  central  point  the 
twelve  or  more  wrapped  stems  are  bent  apart  at  equal  distances  and 
the  regular  wicker  weaving  proceeds.  At  a  certain  distance  outward 
new  warp  stems  are  added  between  each  pair  of  those  already  in  use, 
and  from  this  circle  the  weaving  proceeds  to  the  margin. 

With  the  same  number  of  warp  stems  quite  a  different  process  is 
sometimes  employed,  by  which  the  two  sets  of  the  upper  and  lower 
are  held  together  in  pairs  by  wicker  weaving,  and  at  an  inch  from  the 
center  the  whole  series  are  bound  together  as  before  and  widening  and 
weaving  proceed  in  the  same  manner. 

Fig.  190  is  a  coarse  wicker  tray  of  the  Hopi  Indians  of  northeastern 
Arizona,  and  is  introduced  for  the  purpose  of  illustrating  the  method 
in  which  the  much  finer  work  on  the  sacred  meal  tra}7s  is  done.  Here 
may  be  seen  the  plan  of  starting  out  with  a  few  stems  crossing  each 
other  at  right  angles  for  warp;  the  method  of  hiding  the  large  end  of 
the  weft  stems  to  become  a  portion  of  the  warp,  and  the  method  of 
adding  new  warp  stems  as  they  are  needed.  Especial  attention  is 
called  to  the  way  in  which  several  stems  for  weft  are  introduced  at  the 
same  time  and  Avorked  along  in  sets  or  series.  The  common  method 
of  working  out  the  twill  would  be  to  introduce  a  weft  stem,  carry  it 
as  far  as  it  would  go,  and  then  insert  a  new  weft  stem,  but  in  this 
case  the  series  of  half  a  dozen  stems  are  all  worked  at  the  same  time. 
Compare  description  of  a  Mexican  wicker  basket,  on  page  527. 

The  modern  twilled  basketry  is  as  rough  as  it  can  be.  The  same  is 
true  of  the  flat  mats  used  about  their  dwellings;  in  fact,  the  mat  and 
the  basket  are  identical  in  weaving.  The  basket  is  formed  by  bending 
the  mat  over  the  edge  of  a  hoop  and  sewing  down  with  a  row  of 
twined  weaving. 

Plate  217,  from  a  photograph  the  gift  of  G.  WTharton  James,  repre 
sents  an  ancient  basket  maker  of  Oraibi.  The  picture  is  interesting 
beyond  the  mere  twilled  basket  which  she  holds  in  her  hand  in  the  act 


506 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 


of  mending  a  broken  strand.  The  corn,  the  mixture  of  objects  belong 
ing  to  civilization  and  savagery,  the  homespun  and  woven  clothing  on 
herself,  and  the  maiden  at  her  side  are  all  a  study  in  the  culture  of 
the  region.  The  adobe  and  stone  wall  and  the  coarse  beams  of  wood 
inset  must  be  included.  It  is  an  excellent  picture  of  very  little  modi 
fied  savage  life.  Yucca  baskets  and  trays  are  made  by  the  Hopi  in 
plain  checker;  although  the  material  is  coarse,  quite  pleasing  effects 
are  produced  by  means  of  the  two  sides  of  leaf  and  different  shades 
of  the  same  size. 

The  twined  ware  of  the  Hopi  are  a  few  peach  baskets  and  other 
domestic  utensils,  made  in  the  same  manner  as  the  Ute  hats,  but  there 


FIG.  190. 

COARSE  WIOKERWORK. 
Hopi  Indians,  Arizona. 

is  enough  dissimilarity  of  form  to  give  the  Hopi  the  credit  of  invent 
ing  this  peculiar  style.  (See  Plate  218,  figs.  4  and  7.) 

Plate  218  shows  a  collection  from  Oraibi,  the  westernmost  of  the 
Hopi  pueblos  in  northeastern  Arizona,  gathered  by  Colonel  James  Ste 
venson  and  Cosmos  Mindeleff.  The  three  types  of  work  always  in 
mind  when  Oraibi  and  the  pueblos  of  the  adjoining  mesa  are  men 
tioned,  to  wit,  twilled,  thick  coils,  and  wicker,  are  utterly  wanting 
here.  The  cosmopolitan  character  of  the  Hopi  is  further  attested  b}7 
the  varieties  of  technic  in  the  plate.  The  baskets  on  the  upper  row 
are  as  follows,  from  left  to  right: 

1.  Water-tight  coiled  jar,  with  foundation  of  rods,  sewing  material 
of  willow  splints,  the  stitches  interlocking,  but  not  taking  in  any  of 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  507 

the  foundation  below.  Catalogue  No.  42106  in  the  U.  S.  National 
Museum.  Height,  7i  inches.  The  lugs  on  the  side  are  of  horsehair. 

2.  An  old  flat  coiled  dish,  No.  41227,  said  to  have  come  from  Zuiii, 
in  western  New  Mexico,  7i  inches  in  diameter. 

8.  A  delightful  old  gathering  basket,  No.  42126,  from  Oraibi.  It 
is  of  the  three-rod  coiled  variety  and  might  be  taken  for  the  original 
elegant  Porno  Bamtsuwu.  Each  stitch  passes  over  three  rods  of  the 
current  foundation  and  under  the  upper  rod  of  the  coil  underneath. 
Its  height  is  7i  inches. 

4.  A  gathering  basket  in  twilled  twined  technic.  On  the  bottom  is 
a  projection  whose  function  is  not  known.  Notice  on  the  shoulder 
three  rows  of  twined  work  over  two  warps.  The  difference  between 
this  and  twilled  work  lies  in  this,  that  the  weft  elements  embrace  the 
same  pairs  of  warps  and  are  superposed.  The  border  is  finished  off 
with  a  neat  herringbone  stitch.  Catalogue  No.  83977,  U.  S.  National 
Museum.  Its  height  is  6  inches. 

The  old  pieces  on  the  lower  row  are  equally  interesting. 

1.  A  globose  coiled  jar  in  three-rod  foundation.      The  workman 
ship  is  coarse,  but  the  form  is  suggestive  of  old  pottery.     This  speci 
men  is  No.  84596,  U.  S.  National  Museum,  and  is  7  inches  in  height. 

2.  A  water  jar  in  three  rod  coil,  modern,  with  lugs  of  horsehair 
on  the  side  for  carrying.     The  border  is  fastened  off  with  a  kind  of 
sewing,  here  called  false  braid.     The  material  for  making  the  vessel 
water-tight   is   pine   resin.       Catalogue   No.   42107,    U.    S.    National 
Museum.     Its  height  is  10  inches. 

3.  This   interesting  piece   of   water-tight  twilled  twined   work   is 
strengthened  by  an  interior  framework  similar  to  that  seen  often  in 
the  large  Zufii  packing  baskets  for  donkeys,  and  suggests  the  possi 
bility  of  transporting  water  in  the  same  fashion.     The  weaving  is  rude, 
but  all  the  better  for  holding  pitch.     The  border,  however,  is  neatly 
done  in  false  braid.     Catalogue  No.  68506,  U.  S.  National  Museum. 
Its  height  is  15  inches. 

4.  The  water  jar  constricted  in  the  middle  might  with  propriet}T  be 
called  a  canteen.     Frequently  the  savages  in  this  arid  region  tie  a 
bandage  around  a  young  gourd  which  afterwards  takes  the  shape  here 
shown.     The  foundation  of  the  coil  is  more  like  that  of  Apache,  the 
stitches  interlocking.     Indeed,  the  piece  is  labeled  "old  Apache"  by 
the  collector.     It  is  numbered  40109  and  is  8i  inches  high. 

5.  A  water  jar  or  pitcher  in  three-rod  coil.     It  should  be  compared 
with  No.  1  in  the  same  row,  secured  in  Oraibi  by  the  same  person. 
It  is  Catalogue  No.  84596,  U.  S.   National  Museum.     Its  height  is  8£ 
inches. 

Fig.  191  is  an  ancient  miniature  gaming  wheel  used  frequently  in 
the  ceremonials  of  the  modern  Pueblo  Indians.  Then,  as  now,  the 
hoop  of  wood  was  made  and  a  series  of  half-hitches  passed  around  the 


508 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 


inner  side,  done  in  yucca  fiber.  This  process  was  repeated  upon  the 
loops  thus  constituted  until  the  center  of  the  wheel  was  reached.  It 
is  in  effect  a  kind  of  coiled  work  in  which  the  foundation  is  absent. 
Collected  by  flames  Stevenson. 

Dr.  ,J.  Walter  Fewkes  was  so  fortunate  as  to  recover  from  the 
Chevlon  ruin,  15  miles  from  Winslow  and  in  sight  of  the  station 
Hardy  on  the  Santa  Fe  Railroad,  fragments  of  ancient  basketry, 
shown  in  the  accompanying  plates.  The  custom  of  burying  baskets 
with  the  dead  is  still  preserved  in  the  Tusayan  towns,  and  from  the 
specimens  here  figured,  it  has  been  inherited  from  ancient  times. 
Baskets,  says  Fewkes,  are  not  now  made  at  the  east  mesa,  and  the 
craft  is  confined  to  the  middle  mesa  and  Oraibi. 


FIG.  191. 

ANCIENT  BASKETRY  GAMING  WHEEL. 

Pueblo  Indians,  New  Mexico. 

Collected  by  James  Stevenson. 


The  wicker  baskets  from  several  graves  at  Chevlon  were  identical 
with  those  made  to-day  in  the  pueblo  of  Oraibi.  Some  of  these  spec 
imens  were  painted  on  the  surface  a  green  color  with  malachite,  or 
blue  with  azurite.  In  other  examples  the  small  stems  had  been 
stained  before  they  were  woven.  Plate  219  represents  a  segment  from 
a  wicker  basket  made  from  the  stems  of  Chrysothamnus  graveolens. 
The  warp  consists  of  small  bundles  of  stems;  the  weft,  of  the  same 
material  barked  and  smoothed  down,  in  some  places  dyed.  The  inter 
esting  feature  of  the  specimen  is  the  increasing  of  the  number  of 
warp  elements  as  the  basket  enlarges.  At  first  in  the  drawing  there 
are  five  bundles  of  stems;  about  2  inches  lower  down  the  number  is 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  509 

increased  to  seven,  and  near  the  bottom,  by  the  introduction  of  new 
stems,  ten  warp  elements  are  provided  for.  As  in  the  modern  basketry, 
in  this  ancient  example  the  weft  is  soaked  and  woven  in  that  condition 
and  pressed  home  so  effectually  that  the  warp  is  invisible. 

In  Plate  220,  tig-.  1,  is  shown  a  specimen  of  ancient  matting  in  twilled 
weaving.  The  work  is  done  in  split  yucca  leaves,  just  as  to-day, 
aiid  in  certain  places  the  figure  shows  where  the  leaf  was  stripped 
from  the  stalk.  Examining  the  thousands  of  mats  and  soft  baskets 
from  the  same  pueblo  reveals  the  identical  method  of  doing  the 
twilled  work,  but  in  a  great  many  of  the  modern  examples  regular 
diaper  patterns  are  introduced.  In  the  same  plate  (tig.  3)  is  an  ancient 
example  of  coiled  basketry,  having  foundation  of  three  stems  or  rods. 
By  referring  to  the  California  basketry  it  will  be  seen  that  this  foun 
dation  is  the  same.  This  makes  a  very  smooth  surface,  easily  distin 
guishable  from  the  rugose  condition  of  Apache  basket  built  on  a 
single  rod.a 

These  specimens  are  Catalogue  Nos.  157912,  157915,  157918  in  the 
U.  S.  National  Museum,  and  were  procured  at  Chevlon,  Arizona,  by 
Dr.  J.  Walter  Fewkes. 

Plates  221,  222  illustrate  the  forms  and  uses  of  basketry  in  the 
pueblos  of  northeastern  Arizona  before  the  coming  of  the  whites. 
The  explorations  of  Dr.  J.  Walter  Fewkes  in  Sikyatki  and  Awatobi, 
and  the  Museum-Gates  expedition  in  1901  to  examine  two  ruins  on  the 
Jetyto  Wash,  a  few  miles  from  Keams  Canyon,  have  brought  to  light 
wicker,  twilled,  and  coiled  basketry.  The  wickerwork  is  precisely 
identical  with  the  little  wicker  trays  or  plaques  made  in  the  pueblo 
of  Oraibi  and  used  in  their  religious  ceremonies.  The  twilled  work 
is  the  matting  of  to-day,  and  the  coiled  resembles  that  of  the  Utes  or 
Pimas  rather  than  the  Apaches,  having  a  foundation  not  of  rods,  but 
of  tine  material.  The  uses  of  the  basketry  must  have  been  in  all 
respects  as  among  the  Hopis  of  our  day,  but  Plate  223  shows  the 
connection  of  such  material  with  the  care  of  the  dead  (Catalogue  No. 
213074).  The  plate  illustrates  the  fact  that  coarse  wicker  matting 
was  placed  in  the  bottom  of  the  grave;  on  this  was  laid  a  matting 
of  yucca  fiber,  and  on  this  was  deposited  the  body.  In  the  dressing 
of  the  hair,  then  as  now,  a  plaited  cord  of  human  hair  was  employed. 
A  description  of  its  discovery  appears  in  Dr.  Walter  Hough's  paper, 
Archeological  Field  Work  in  Northeastern  Arizona. 

Judging  from  the  artifacts  secured  by  the  Museum-Gates  expedi 
tion,  these  pueblos  belong  to  the  type  of  Awatobi  and  Sityatki,  and,  as 
far  as  appearances  go,  may  have  been  contemporaneous.  Dr.  Fewkes 
regards  Sityatki  as  one  of  the  most  ancient  pueblos  of  the  Hopi  group. 
It  is  well  known  that  Awatobi  was  inhabited  up  to  the  year  1700,  but 

«  Smithsonian  Report.  1896,  pis.  xxxii  and  xxxni,  after  Fewkes. 


510  KEPOKT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

there  is  no  historical  reference  to  the  pueblos  from  which  these  speci 
mens  were  derived,  and  there  is  no  evidence  of  the  Iron  Age  in  them.  It 
seems  probable,  however,  that  they  date  before  the  year  1700,  but  just 
how  much  anterior  it  is  not  possible  at  present  to  say.  a 


ATHAPASCAN    BASKETRY 


A  summary  of  Athapascan  basketry  in  its  ethnic  areas  would  include 
the  following : 

The  northern  Athapascans  in  the  interior  of  Alaska  and  in  the 
Mackenzie  drainage  make  coiled  basketry  in  a  variety  of  types,  the 
material  being  willow  and  root  of  the  conifers.  The  Pacific  coast  group, 
living  formerly  in  Washington,  Oregon,  and  northwestern  California, 
near  the  sea,  of  which  the  Hupas  are  the  best  known,  excel  in  twined 
work  with  decoration  in  overlaying,  but  these  tribes  have  not  the  ver 
satility  of  the  Porno,  farther  south.  All  the  weaving  is  of  one  variety, 
well  known  in  the  region. 

The  southern  Athapascans,  under  many  names,  practice  both  coiled 
and  twined  basketry.  They  base  their  coiled  work  on  hard  stems  and 
sew  them  with  splints  of  cottonwood,  mulberry,  sumac,  and  willow  or 
strips  of  yucca.  They  also  used  agave  fiber. 

The  mescal  plant  (Agave  americana),  says  Bourke,  is  to  the  Apache 
what  the  palm  is  to  the  East.  It  is  baked  in  ovens  for  victuals  and  its 
juice  is  fermented  to  make  a  drink.  For  the  basket  maker  the  thorns 
are  good  needles,  the  libers  excellent  thread  material,  and  the  flower 
stalk  forms  the  frame  of  the  carrying  outfit. 

The  Apaches  or  southern  Athapascan  basket  makers  were  formerly 
spread  over  eastern  Arizona,  western  New  Mexico,  and  in  Texas  along 
the  Rio  Grande,  as  will  be  seen  in  Powell's  linguistic  map/'  They 
were  gathered  on  reservations  \)y  Gen.  Nelson  A.  Miles.  Scattered 
bands  are  to  be  found  here  and  there.  Mr.  James  mentions  one  near 
Short  Horn  Mountains  and  in  the  neighborhood  of  Palomas  and  Agua 
Caliente,  comprising  about  thirty  families  of  basket  makers.  The 
collector  or  student  must  not  be  surprised,  therefore,  if  in  the  hands 
of  Apaches  are  seen  work  of  other  tribes.  Indeed,  he  will  frequently 
see  the  women  borrowing  materials,  structures,  forms,  and  even  designs 
from  outside.  A  large  and  varied  collection  of  Apache  ware  is  exh  ibi  ted 
in  the  Free  Museum  of  Phoenix,  Arizona,  collected  by  Messrs.  Benham. 

On  the  authority  of  Mrs.  J.  S.  Newman  there  are  five  tribes  on 
the  Apache  Reservation,  and  a  few  scattered  members  of  other  tribes, 
but  five  to  class  as  basket  makers.  Of  these  the  Ton  to  should  rank 
first,  making  chiefly  ollas,  which  require  more  skill  than  plaques  or 
bowl  shapes,  and  their  work  is  universally  even  and  good.  Their  j 

« Archeological  field  work  in  northeastern  Arizona.     The  Museum-Gates  expedi 
tion,  1901.     Walter  Hough,  Report  of  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1901,  pp.  279-358. 
^Seventh  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  1891,  pocket. 


ABOKIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETEY.  511 

specimens  are  nearly  always  marked  with  the  arrow  point,  the  pattern 
running  vertically  from  the  center.  Their  proficiency  is  accounted 
for  in  the  fact  that  the  land  allowed  them  on  the  Gila  .River  is  the 
least  productive  of  any  on  the  reservation,  hence  their  dependence 
on  basket  making  for  a  living. 

The  center  or  beginning  of  either  Apache  coiled  bowl  or  olla  is 
always  wrapped  with  black  (devil  claw)  and  the  rim  finished  with  the 
same  stitch  as  that  used  throughout  the  body  of  the  work,  both  or 
either  colors  being  used. 

Plate  224:  is  a  number  of  Apache  coiled  bowls  belonging  to  the  col 
lection  of  J.  W.  Benham.  The  foundation  is  in  whole  stem  and  the 
sewing  done  with  splints  of  white  wood  and  martynia.  A  compari 
son  of  these  ten  pieces  reveals  tolerably  well  the  genius  of  Apache 
decorations.  There  are  discrete  figures  of  men  and  beasts;  there  are 
both  radial  and  concentric  designs;  in  the  crenelated  (fig.  10)  and 
fretted  motives  (figs.  5  and  9)  suggestions  arise  which  point  to  the 
Tulare  area.  The  Apache,  naturally  a  wanderer,  has  picked  up  here 
a  little  and  there  a  little  of  design. 

The  White  Mountain  Apaches  are  clustered  around  Camp  Apache, 
the  agency,  and  on  two  of  the  large  creeks  running  south  from  the 
Mogollon  mesa.  The  art  of  basket  making  is  not  actively  practiced 
at  present,  the  younger  members  of  the  tribe  finding  it  difficult  to 
learn  and  saying  that  it  injures  their  hands.  Some  of  the  old  women, 
however,  retain  the  ancient  skill,  and  even  superior  work  may  be 
secured  from  the  reservation.  It  may  be  said  that  the  cariying  baskets 
and  the  pitched  water  bottles  are  as  frequently  made  as  ever  and  are 
in  constant  use,  whereas  the  finer  bowls,  which  were  formerly  common, 
as  among  the  Pueblo  tribes,  for  storing  meal,  etc.,  are  growing  rarer 
every  year  and  command  high  prices. 

The  baskets  shown  in  Plate  225,  Catalogue  Nos.  213262  and  213268, 
U.  S.  National  Museum,  were  secured  at  the  agency  in  the  summer  of 
1901. 

Fig.  1  is  a  small,  well-woven  bowl,  the  design  representing  the  sun 
flower. 

The  second  figure  is  a  modern  basket  with  geometrical  pattern, 
which  in  certain  portions  is  quite  inaccurately  worked  out.  On  the 
whole  the  design  is  excellent. 

Plate  226  represents  coiled  basket  bowls  of  the  White  Mountain 
Apache.  The  foundation  of  the  upper  figure  is  of  willow,  the  sewing 
in  splints  of  white  wood  and  martynia  in  alternate  rows,  which  are 
divided  into  four  sections  by  V-shaped  ornaments  effected  by  chang 
ing  the  direction  of  the  lines  in  black. 

The  lower  figure  is  the  same  material,  foundation  of  rods,  sewing 
in  white  and  black  coarsely  done,  stitches  scarcely  touching.  The 
whole  surface  is  covered  with  rhomboidal  figures  produced  by  crossing 


512 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 


of  four  sets  of  lines  in  pairs,  passing  in  cycloidal  curves  from  the  bot 
tom  to  the  margin.     Catalogue  Nos.  21326-1  and  213265. 

The  specimens  were  collected    by    Dr.   Walter   Hough   on   White 
Mountain  Apache  Reservation,  !()()  miles  south  of  Holbrook,  Arizona. 
The  symbol  is  that  of  the  martynia  hooks,  the  sharp  points  having 
been  allowed  to  project  from  the  inner  surface  in  certain  areas. 

The  shoots  for  basket  material  are  gathered  in  the  spring,  tied  in 
bundles,  and  put  away  in  the  houses  for  future  use,  sometimes  with 
the  hark  on,  at  others  without.  When  the  basket  maker  is  ready  the 
osiers  are  soaked  thoroughly  in  water;  the  stems  are  employed  whole 
for  the  foundation  of  the  coil,  and  the  sewing  is  done  omy  with  the 
outer  layer,  the  inner  portions  being  peeled  off  and  the  splints  scraped. 
One  end  is  held  in  the  mouth,  the  other  in  the  left  hand,  whiie  the 

steel  Tviiife,  formerly  the 
stone  knife,  is  used  in  the 
right  hand. 

The  ornamentation  on 
all  this  basketry  is  in 
Martynia  Louisiana,  or 
devil's  claw  (Tahuate), 
the  design  itself  often 
being  the  figure  of  the 
plant.  The  awl  used  in 
the  sewing  is  called  by 
the  White  Mountain  In 
dian,  tsatl;  the  coiled 
bowl,  tsa;  the  spindle- 
shaped  water  jar,  tose; 
the  carrying  basket  of 
twined  work,  ta  tsa;  the 
gathering  scoop,  pen  al 
te,  and  the  shoots  of 
wood,  tsiri. 

Fig.  192  shows  the  or 
namentation  on  a  coiled  basket  bowl  of  the  Coyotero,  on  the  San 
Carlos  Agency,  in  southern  Arizona.  The  parts  are  in  threes;  the 
smaller  design  is  made  up  of  a  combination  of  little  squares  and  tri 
angles,  the  larger  design  being  more  complicated  in  its  elements,  with 
its  three  vase-shaped  parts,  which  terminate  in  the  dark  circle  of  the 
I  center.  The  meaning  of  this  design  is  unknown. 

This  specimen,  Catalogue  No   dH28  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum, 
\was  collected  on  the  Gila  River,  Arizona,  by  H.  W.  Read. 

Fig.  193  is  an  old  bottle-shaped  coiled  basket,  made,  according  to 
Dr.  Hough,  long  ago  by  the  Mescalero  Apache,  before  they  adopted 
the  present  wide  variety.  The  foundation  of  the  coil  consists  of  a 
rigid  stem  overlaid  with  soft  fiber.  The  stitching  passes  over  the 


FIG.  192. 

COILED  BOWL. 

Coyotero  Indhins,  Arizona. 
Collected  by  II.  AV.  Kead. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  513 

foundation  of  the  coil,  under  the  packing  of  the  coil  underneath. 
The  sewing  is  done  with  splints  of  willow  or  cottonwood.  The  orna 
mentation  consists  of  six  rows  of  coiling  in  brown  material  on  the 
neck,  a  row  of  black  material  on  the  shoulder,  with  two  rows  of  chev 
rons  on  the  body.  The  latest  Apache  has  only  black  and  white  in 
^decoration;  red  and  brown  are  old  and  rare. 

This  specimen,  Catalogue  No.  2149-4  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,, 
jvas  collected  in  Arizona  by  Dr.  J.  B.  White,  U.  S.  Army. 


FIG.  193. 
BASKET  JAR. 
Apache  Indians. 
Collected  by  J.  B.  White. 


Fig.  194  is  a  design  on  a  coiled  basket  bowl  of  the  Apache.  The 
foundation  of  the  bowl  is  the  rod-and-splint  pattern,  and  the  sewing 
passes  over  it,  under  the  splints  of  the  coil  below,  the  stitches  inter 
locking.  The  design  is  in  Martynia  loidslana.  The  apparently 
unsystematic  ornamentation  is,  in  effect,  perfectly  regular.  Four 
lines  of  black  stitching,  of  the  same  lengths  in  each,  proceed  from  a 
black  ring  around  the  center.  From  the  ends  of  these  lines  the  sew 
ing  is  to  the  left  in  regular  curves.  The  four  radiating  lines  are 
repeated  and  then  the  curved  lines  until  the  border  is  reached.  The 
suggestion  of  lightning  or  the  limbs  of  some  insect  has  been  made  out. 
The  design  has  not  been  explained  by  any  basket  maker. 
NAT  MUS  1902 33 


514 


EEPOET    OF   NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 


This  specimen,  Catalogue  No.  21493  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum, 
was  collected  in  Arizona  by  Dr.  J.  B.  White,  U.  S.  Army. 

Plate  227  represents  a  jar  and  a  plaque  by  the  Mescalero  Apache 
Indians  of  New  Mexico,  collected  by  Dr.  Walter  Hough,  Catalogue 
Nos.  204651  and  204646  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum.  Especial 
attention  is  directed  to  the  width  of  the  coils  in  these  baskets.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  the  Fraser  River  tribes  in  British  Columbia 
obtained  an  economical  result  of  widening  coils  by  the  introduction 
of  narrow  strips  of  wood  instead  of  the  roots  or  bundles  of  grass  for 
the  foundation.  These  Apache  Indians  have  also  discovered  that  using 
two  or  more  rods,  one  lying  on  the  top  of  the  other,  would  give  the 
same  result.  The  stitches  in  yucca  also,  instead  of  passing  underneath 

another  rod  in  the  coil  be 
low,  are  simply  interlocked 
with  the  stitches  under 
neath.  The  ornamentation 
is  produced  by  different 
colors  of  the  same  substance. 
The  outside  of  the  leaf  is 
green  in  different  shades, 
but  the  inside  of  the  split 
leaf  is  perfectly  white.  By 
exposing  the  inside  or  the 
outside  the  angular  orna- 

c> 

mentation  results.  In  such 
wide  foundation  the  designs 
must  be  very  simple.  The 
dark  lines  in  the  lower  tigure 
are  produced  by  using  the 
small  roots  of  the  same  plant 
in  sewing.  This  liber  is  very 
much  more  brittle  than  the 
leaf.  Comparing  these  two 
examples  with  the  plaques  of  the  Hopi  Indians  demonstrates  better 
than  any  other  figures  yet  employed  the  limitations  of  the  basket  maker 
in  the  very  elements  of  ornamentation.  Each  separate  part  of  the 
mosaic  is  a  long  stitch,  set  vertically  in  the  jar  and  radially  on  the 
plaque  or  bowl.  From  this  the  basket  maker  can  not  escape. 

Fig.  195  is  labeled  coiled  basket  of  the  Navaho.  On  the  authority 
of  C.  M.  O'Leary,  of  Abbottsford  Inn,  Los  Angeles,  California,  the 
Navaho  do  not  manufacture  baskets;  but  they  use  a  ceremonial  basket 
that  is  made  by  the  Apaches  and  comes  from  Arizona.  Other  observ 
ers  attribute  these  curious  pieces  to  the  Ute;  but  old  Navaho  women 
still  understand  the  art. 


FIG.  194. 
COILED  BASKET  BOWL. 

Apache  Indians. 
Collected  by  J.  B.  White. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  515 

-  In  this  example  the  foundation  is  a  single  rod.  The  body  color 
of  the  bowl  is  that  of  the  wood.  The  ornamentation  is  in  splints  of  rhus 
dyed  mahogany  brown  and  black,  and  consists  of  four  quadrants 
in  each  of  which  is  a  cross-shaped  figure.  The  boundary  of  the  space 
is  black,  filled  in  with  brown.  The  figure  is  in  the  color  of  the 
wood  and  has  a  black  border.  In  the  sewing  the  stitches  simply 
interlock  with  those  underneath.  The  border  of  the  specimen  is 
worthy  of  study,  being  what  is  called  elsewhere  false  braid.  The 


FIG.  195. 
COILED  PLAQUE. 
Navaho  Indians. 


Apaches,  on  the  contrary,  make  borders  in  plain  coil.  Catalogue  No. 
16510  in  the  United  States  National  Musem  was  collected  in  1873  by 
Governor  .Amy,  of  New  Mexico. 

Plate  228  is  a  collection  of  Navaho  sacred  basket  drums  belonging 
to  C.  P.  Wilcomb.  Baskets  attributed  to  the  Navaho  are  extremely 
uniform  in  every  respect.  On  the  authority  of  Dr.  Washington 
Matthews  the  sewing  material  is  splints  of  sumac  (Rhus  aromatica). 
Some  Indians  told  Dr.  Hough  that  the  material  was  tsin,  a  species 
of  willow  growing  along  the  washes.  The  stitches  in  the  sewing 


516 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 


simply  interlock,  and   there   is   no   attempt   made   to   pass   into   the 
foundation  of  the  coil  underneath.     The  borders  are  in  false  braid 


FIG.  1%. 

SACIIKD   HASKKT   TRAY. 

Navalio  Indians. 
Collected  by  Governor  Amy. 


passing  by  ji  kfc  figure  of  eight"  movement  under  the  foundation  and 


over  the  outer  margin. 


. 
Jn  the  ancient  days  a  Navaho  woman  invented 

this  pretty  border.  She  was  seated 
under  a  juniper  tree  finishing  net 
work  in  the  old,  plain  way,  when 
the  god  llastseyath  threw  a  small 
spray  of  juniper  into  her  basket. 
Happy  thought!  She  imitated  the 
fold  of  the  leaves  on  the  border 
and  the  invention  was  complete. 
(Matthews.) 

The  decoration  also  of  the  Navaho 
baskets  is  in  designs  taking  the  form 
of  bands  for  their  sacred  drums 
(fig.  19H),  and  of  crosses  (tig.  195)  for  their  sacred  meal  baskets.  The 
colored  bands  on  the  drums  are  founded  on  a  central  stripe  which 


FIG.  197. 
BORDER.  OK  FIG.  196. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  517 

may  be  lignt  or  dark,  and  from  the  borders  project  variously  notched 
or  angular  figures.  The  one  characteristic  to  which  attention  is  always 
directed  in  this  ware  is  the  break  in  the  band.  It  is  mentioned  else 
where  on  the  authority  of  Matthews  that  a  line  drawn  from  the  center 
of  the  basket  through  this  open  pathway  will  end  at  the  point  where 
the  basket  was  finished  off,  and  when  it  is  used  as  a  drum  this  is  the 
point  where  the  hand  of  the  medicine  man  must  be  placed  in  the 
plaque,  the  radial  line  pointing  eastward.  Another  interpretation  of 
this,  which  can  not  here  be  proven,  is  that  this  break  in  the  orna 
mentation  has  something  to  do  with  the  passing  backward  and  forward 
of  the  spirit  of  the  basket,  as  in  the  Pueblo  pottery  decoration/'  (See 
figs.  196  and  197.) 

Dr.  Ales  Hrdlicka  writes  that  the  basket  work  of  the  Hualapai 
and  Havasupai  can  be  studied  better  by  having  it  understood  that 
although  both  these  peoples  are  associated  with  the  Yuman  family 
linguistically,  they  are  decidedly  one  with  the  Apaches  in  physical 
characteristics.  Their  basketry,  therefore,  will  have  to  be  compared 
with  that  of  the  Apaches  and  not  that  of  the  Mission  Indians  of 
southern  California,  who  are  Yuman.  The  foundation  is  a  solid  stem 
with  a  welt.  The  sewing  is  done  with  splints  of  willow,  and  also  now 
with  those  made  from  the  young  and  tender  suckers  from  the  cotton- 
wood  tree,  from  2  to  3  feet  in  length.  The  geometric  ornamentation 
is  in  martynia.  Among  the  Hualapai  and  Havasupai  there  are  three 
kinds  of  baskets — that  is,  three  forms  exist,  but  the  Havasupai  are  the 
best  workwomen.  The  first  is  coarse  coiled  ware.  When  the  twining 
is  going  on  they  leave  the  finished  ends  projecting  outside  and  inside 
until  the  whole  basket  is  completed  and  afterwards  they  are  trimmed 
off  all  at  the  same  time.  The  second  is  a  plain  coiled  bowl  in  the  shape 
of  a  caraffe,  covered  with  pitch  to  make  it  water-tight.  The  third  is 
decorated  coiled  work.  The  first  is  a  plaque  with  black  decoration 
in  martynia  only.  The  second  shape  is  more  or  less  cylindrical,  or 
the  rim  turning  in.  or  tending  toward  a  spherical  form.  In  the 
plaque  there  is  seldom  any  other  decorative  color  than  black,  but  the. 
other  forms,  cylindrical  and  globose,  have  various  colors,  although 
mostly  different  shades  of  red.  The  designs  are  tooth-shaped  or  den- 
tated,  star-shaped,  and  crenelated.  No  curved  lines  or  animal  forms 
are  used.  The  Hualapai  also  make  conical  carrying  baskets  with  a 
head-band,  the  decorations  being  meager  and  consist  only  of  lines,  no 
geometric  figures  being  used.  Occasionally  designs  are  painted,  not 
woven.  (See  Plate  229.) 

Plate  230,  fig.  2,  represents  a  Havasupai  coiled  basket  bowl.  The 
foundation  is  of  rods  and  splints  of  willow  and  the  sewing  is  the  same. 
The  most  interesting  feature  is  the  border.  It  is  false  braid  in  which  two 
rows  of  the  coil  are  involved.  A  single  splint  passes  down  and  includes 

« See  Washington  Matthews,  The  Night  Chant,  a  Navaho  Ceremony.  Memoirs 
of  the  American  Museum  Natural  History,  VI,  pp.  1-332,  New  York,  1902. 


518  REPORT    OF   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1902 

both  foundations,  up,  over,  and  under  the  upper  foundation  only,  then 
back  and  under  both  to  the  point  of  beginning.  This  is  an  old  speci 
men,  had  been  in  the  possession  of  a  family  for  many  years.  From 
the  Sichomovi  (Hopi)  Pueblo,  made  by  the  Havasupai  (Yuman)  Indians, 
collected  by  Dr.  Walter  Hough. 

Plate  931  represents  the  Havasupai  basket  maker  at  her  home,  which 
is  in  Cataract  Caivyon  emptying  into  the  Colorado  River  from  the 
south,  in  northwestern  Arizona.  The  most  interesting-  feature  of  this 
plate  is  the  association  of  the  basket  maker  with  her  home.  The  steep 
wall  of  the  canyon  forms  the  back  of  the  house,  and  a  slight  brush 
awning  covered  with  grass  is  her  shelter.  So  far  as  the  house  is  con 
cerned,  we  are  as  near  to  the  lowest  savage  and  primitive  man  as  it  is 
possible  to  get,  but  in  the  woman  and  her  work  we  are  on  the  top 
round  of  savagery.  The  Apache-Yuma  basket  makers  at  Palomas, 
Arizona,  sit  in  front  of  their  brush  and  straw  shelters  the  same  as  the 
Pimas,  hold  the  right  side  of  the  plaque  or  bowl  inward,  and  work 
their  sewing  toward  the  left  hand.  (G.  C.  Simms,  Field  Columbian 
Museum.)  In  the  previous  plate  the  woman  is  making  coiled  basketry, 
but  in  the  one  here  given  by  George  Wharton  James  the  bottle  and  the 
carrying  baskets  are  in  twilled  or  diagonal-twined  weaving. 

The  Walapai,  spelled  often  Hualapai,  from  Walla,  tall  pine,  Pai, 
people,  are  also  of  the  Yuman  family  and  dwell  near  Truxton,  Hack- 
berry,  and  Kingman,  in  northern  Arizona.  There  are  less  than  600 
of  them.  They  make  water  jars  of  several  shapes  and  many  sizes; 
household  baskets  and  plaques,  never  decorated,  often  covered  with 
pitch  on  the  inside,  always  shallow;  more  or  less  cylindrical  baskets  with 
geometric  designs  in  martynia,  rarely  painted  bluish,  red  or  white  on 
the  outside;  the  same  with  bail-like  handles;  great  conical  carrying 
baskets,  sparingly  decorated;  small  plaques,  finer  work,  splints  dyed; 
baby  boards,  and  fanciful  shapes.  These  are  coiled  on  the  rod  and 
splint  foundation  and  resemble  Apache.  Basketry  terms  are: 

Wi-uat  we-se-ma,  prepared  root  of  yucca,  of  brownish-red  color. 

Ma-k-tu-na,  red  roots  of  a  little  plant  on  the  mountains. 

K-he-e,  or  K-he-e-he-vah,  reeds  used  for  vertical  ribs,  also  white  or 
green  fiber. 

Ma-tha-kigh,  reed  for  making  baby  boards,  hoods,  also  for  warps 
of  baskets.  An  example  was  collected  by  Dr.  Hrdlicka,  ornamented 
with  triangles  and  crenelated  lines  in  pink  and  black. 

The  Mohave  Indians  (Yuman  family)  do  not  make  baskets,  but  obtain 
them  from  other  tribes,  and  examples  will  be  found  in  every  house. 
They  obtain  their  rabbit-skin  robes,  done  in  twined  weaving,  from 
Paiutes  (Shoshonean  family)  and  Walapai  (Yuman  family).  The 
Mohaves  make  constant  use  of  the  wrapped  weaving.  (See  page  231, 
and  Plate  17.) 

The  Chemehuevi  are  Shoshonean  linguistically,  and  are  now  located 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


519 


on  the  Colorado  River  Agency,  Arizona.  They  make  coiled  baskets. 
The  foundation  is  a  rod  and  the  sewing-  is  done  with  willow  or  other 
splints,  maybe  cottonwood.  The  black  figures  are  in  the  pods  of  mar- 
tynia.  Only  two  colors  are  used;  frequently,  however,  feathers  are 
introduced  under  the  stitches.  They  are  the  most  tastefully  made  and 
the  most  beautiful  baskets  in  that  whole  region.  Catalogue  No.  211028 
is  a  Chemehuevi  plaque  in  the  National  Museum  collected  by  Captain 
Paul  B.  Carter,  IT.  S.  A.  The  ornamentation  consists  in  a  black  center 
and  two  bands  done  in  martynia  pod.  The  surface  is  covered  with  a 
network  of  rhombs.  Plate  232  is  a  collection 
of  Chemehuevi  plaques  and  jars  in  coiled 
weaving  now  in  the  IT.  S.  National  Museum. 

C"5 

Especial  attention  is  called  to  the  purely  geo 
metric  figures  on  the  surface,  star,  toothed 
lines,  rhombs  in  bands,  crenelated  and  ser 
rated  lines  in  great  variety.  In  the  central 
figure  the  middle  band  recalls  the  design,  a 
modification  of  which  becomes  the  well-known 
fiying  butterfly  pattern.  (See  Plate  195.) 

The  tribes  of  the  Piman  family  are  in 
two  groups,  the  northern,  including  Opata, 
Papago,  and  Pima  proper;  and  the  southern, 
including  Cahita,  Cora,  Tarahumara,  and 
Tepeguana,  wholly  confined  to  Mexico.  By 
many  scholars  the  Piman  family  would  be 
made  part  of  the  great  Uto-Aztecan. 

The  Piman  basketry  is  unmistakable.  The 
foundation  is  of  split  cat-tail  stems  (Typha 
angustifolid)  and  the  sewing  is  with  willow 
(Salix  nigrd)  and  pods  of  martynia,  but  the 
stitches  are  so  fine  and  the  work  so  uniform 
that  the  surface  is  not  rugose  but  smooth.  The 
Pima  decoration  is  the  exuberance  of  fretwork.  In  the  National  Museum 
are  many  old  pieces  brought  home  by  Army  officers.  Edward  Palmer 
also  collected  many,  and  recently  Dr.  Frank  Russell  has  enriched  the  col 
lections  with  material  which  will  be  the  subject  of  a  special  monograph. 
Coiled  work  without  foundation  finds  application  among  the  Pima  in 
the  network  which  supports  their  gourd  receptacles.  (See  fig.  198.) 

It  has  been  said  that  basket  making  was  introduced  among  the  Pima 
one  hundred  years  ago,  when  the  Maricopa  sought  shelter  among  them 
from  the  slaughter  of  the  Yuma.  At  that  time  the  Pima  made  pot 
tery  only.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Maricopa  allowed  basket  making 
to  fall  into  disuse,  and  now  make  pottery  only.  Both  Pima  and 
Papago  make  matting  in  twilled  work,  and  also  carrying  frames  cov 
ered  with  rude  coiled  lace. 


FIG. 

GOURD  IX  COILED  NETWORK. 
Pima  Indians,  Arizona. 

Cat.  No.  76047,  TJ.S.N.M. 
Collected  by  Edward  Palmer. 


520 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 


They  had  no  pails  or  vessels  of  wood,  but  were  not  slow  to  invent.  They  there 
fore  took  willows,  which  grow  in  abundance  along  the  river,  and  a  reed,  and 
stripped  the  bark,  then  very  adroitly  split  these  with  their  teeth  and  wove  them  so 
closely  together  as  to  hold  water.  This  they  accomplished  by  means  of  needles  or 
thorns  of  cactus,  of  which  there  are  over  one  hundred  varieties  in  this  territory. 
They  used  these  baskets  while  digging  small  ditches,  the  women  rilling  them  with 
earth  and  carrying  them  up  the  bank.  «• 

Catalogue  No.  76033,  U.  S.  National  Museum  (see  tig.  100),  is  a  carrying 
basket  (child's)  of  the  Pima  Indians,  a  pyramidal  bag  netted  of  the  fiber 
of  the  agave;  at  the  vertex  is  an  opening  3  inches  in  diameter.  The 
base  is  attached  to  a  hoop  by  a  string  of  agave  fiber,  with  which  the 
hoop  is  served;  the  bag  is  decorated  with  fretted  work  painted  black 
and  red.  Two  stems  of  the  Ceren*  gigantem,  3-i^  inches  long  and  one- 
half  inch  in  diameter,  are  passed  from  the  outside  of  the  hoop  to  the 
inside  of  the  bag,  10  inches  apart,  thence  down  till  they  pass  through 

the  opening  in  the  vertex; 
at  this  point  they  cross  each 
other  at  an  acute  angle  and 
extend  7^  inches  beyond; 
two  other  stems  Itt  inches 
long  are  passed  into  the 
bag,  in  front,  in  the  same 
way,  9  inches  apart,  and 
their  ends  stop  at  the  cross 
ing  of  the  other  sticks;  at 
this  point  the  four  are 
firmly  lashed  together  and 
the  margin  of  the  bag  at 
the  vertex  opening  is  fas 
tened  to  the  sticks. 
Where  the  sticks  enter  the  bag  the  hoop  is  tied  to  them  b\r  a  cord 
of  black  horsehair;  these  also  serve  to  tie  the  load  in  the  basket. 
Near  the  bottom  a  small  brace  of  wood  is  passed  through  the  meshes 
of  the  bag  and  in  front  of  the  sticks  on  either  side,  to  give  it  additional 
strength.  A  piece  of  matting  of  split  reeds,  16  by  7  inches,  is  attached 
to  the  back  of  the  basket  to  protect  the  body  of  the  carrier;  a  pad  of 
cloth  is  placed  between  the  basket  and  matting  for  the  same  purpose. 
A  strong  cord  of  twisted  agave  fiber,  3  feet  long,  is  looped  around 
the  vertex;  the  ends  passed  along  the  posterior  sticks,  outside  the  bag, 
are  fastened  to  the  sticks  by  a  loop  of  fiber.  Above,  the  ends  are 
attached  to  the  forehead  band,  woven  from  the  softened  fiber  of  the 
Yucca  Imccttta;  it  is  double,  and  7  inches  long  and  2  inches  wide. 
The  staff  is  of  wood  21  inches  long  and  one-half  inch  in  diameter, 
painted  red,  ornamented  at  upper  end  with  buckskin  strings,  and 


FIG.  199. 

COILED  BOWL. 

Pirmi  Indians. 

Collected  by  Edward  Palmer. 


"Isaac  T.  Whittemore,  Among  the  Pimas,  p.  53,  Albany,  N.  Y.,  1893. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


521 


served  with  agave  twine;  the  upper  end  is  notched.  The  staff  is  also 
used  to  support  the  basket  in  an  upright  position  when  it  is  unslung. 
(See  iigs.  100  and  106.)  Width  above,  transverse,  13  inches;  antero- 
posterior,  11  inches;  depth  behind,  11^  inches;  front,  7i  inches.  Col 
lected  by  Edward  Palmer. 

Fig.  199  is  a  coiled  basket  of  the  Pimas.  The  foundation  is  made  of 
grass  stems  or  cat-tail,  and  the  sewing  is  done  with  narrow  and  uniform 
splints  of  cotton  wood  or  willow,  the  black  figures  being  worked  in  with 
martynia.  The  puzzling  and  intricate  ornamentation  is  reducible  to  a 


FIG.  200. 

COILKD  BOWL. 

Pima  Indians. 

Collected  by  Edward  Palmer. 


few  most  simple  elements  and  easy  of  construction.  Four  series  of 
vertical  lines  start  from  the  black  bottom.  At  uniform  distances  from 
the  beginning  all  the  way  out  to  the  rim  horizontal  lines  proceed  to 
the  left,  terminating  in  small  black  squares.  It  can  easily  be  seen  that, 
while  the  vertical  lines  are  narrow  and  depend  upon  the  width  of  the 
stitches,  the  horizonal  lines  must  necessarily  be  as  wide  as  the  rows  of 
sewing.  About  two-thirds  of  the  way  from  the  beginning  a  new  set 
of  zigzags  are  started,  and  these  are  continued  to  the  outer  margin. 


522 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 


This  specimen,  Catalogue  No.  9370  in  the  U.  8.  National  Museum, 
was  procured  in  Arizona  by  Kdward  Palmer,  and  is  figured  by  Holmes." 

Fig.  200  is  a  coiled  basket  bowl  of  the  Pima  Indians.  The  founda 
tion  is  of  shredded  material  and  the  sewing  is  in  splints  of  willow. 
The  decoration  is  in  three  series,  as  follows:  Bottom,  solid  black;  the 
main  portion  of  the  body  is  a  double  row  of  fretwork  in  single  lines 
of  black;  on  the  upper  margin  is  a  single  row  of  fretwork.  The  up 
and  down  lines  in  this  work  are  partly  perpendicular  and  partly  slop- 


FIG.  201. 

COILED  BOWL. 

Pima  Indians. 

Collected  by  Edward  Palmer. 


ing  to  adjust  themselves  to  the  widening  of  the  basket.  On  the 
extreme  edge,  as  a  finish  to  the  basket,  is  a  false  braid  in  black 
martynia. 

Fig.  201  is  a  coiled  basket  bowl  of  the  Pima  Indians.  The  founda 
tion  is  in  shredded  material  of  rush;  the  sewing  in  willow  and  mar 
tynia.  The  ornamentation  consists  of  a  black  bottom,  out  of  which 
rise  four  right-angle  triangles,  to  which  are  attached  a  curious  fret- 

«  Sixth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  1888,  p.  220,  fig.  322. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


523 


purpose  of  showing  how 


work  made  up  of  L-shape  elements.  There  are  a  number  of  smaller 
right-angle  triangles  worked  into  the  figures  at  various  points,  show 
ing  that  this  is  a  constant  idea  in  the  mind  of  the  manufacturer. 
Diameter,  12i  inches;  height,  4f  inches. 

This  specimen,  Catalogue  No.  76040  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum, 
was  collected,  with  many  others,  in  Arizona  by  Edward  Palmer. 
Plate  233  is  a  piece  of  the  same  type  from  the  collection  of  C.  E. 
Rumsey. 

Plate  234  represents  two  Pima  basket  bowls  in  the  U.  8.  National 
Museum,  collections  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  by  Dr.  Frank  Rus 
sell.  The  foundation,  sewing,  and  border  are  the  same  as  in  other 
examples.  This  plate  is  introduced  for  th< 
the  basket  maker  works  out 
a  series  of  concentric  figures 
whose  elements  are  straight 
lines  mixed  with  segments 
of  circles.  The  lower  figure 
is  based  on  a  circle  in  black 
from  which  four  points  pro  - 
ject.  The  concentric  rings 
are  based  upon  this  funda 
mental  figure  absolutely. 
From  the  points  segments 
of  circles  increase  in  length 
as  they  proceed  outward. 
From  the  concave  quarter 
of  the  central  figure  circu 
lar  segments  decrease  in 
length  as  they  proceed 
outward  and  the  ends  of 
these  two  sets  of  segments 
are  connected  by  ragged 
straight  lines.  Finally  the 

spaces  at  the  four  quarters  on  the  rim  are  filled  with  small  triangles 
in  black.  Could  anything  be  more  artistic  than  this  association  of  the 
simplest  elements  in  basket  weaving? 

The  upper  figure  is  on  the  same  sort  of  foundation,  only  concentric 
segments  alternate  with  series  of  rectangles  arranged  in  checker  pat 
terns.  These  rectangles  are  all  the  same  size,  and  are  based  on  the 
four  quarters  projecting  from  the  black  circle.  The  widening  of 
the  pattern  is  all  accomplished  by  the  lengthening  of  the  circular 
segments. a 

Fig.  202  is  a  coiled  basket  bowl  of  the  Pima  Indians,  Piman  family, 
in  southern  Arizona.  The  foundation  of  the  coil  is  in  stems  of  finely 


FIG.  202. 
COILED  BOWL. 

Pima  Indians. 
Collected  by  Edward  Palmer. 


« Frank  Russell,  Annual  lie  port  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology  (in  preparation). 


524 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 


shredded  liber  of  cat-tail  (typha  latifoUa).  The  sewing  is  in  splints  of 
willow,  the  stitches  passing  over  the  foundation  and  interlocking  with 
those  underneath.  The  sewing  material  is  somewhat  rigid  so  that  the 
stitches  are  not  pressed  home,  and  the  foundation  shows  between. 
Many  of  the  stitches  are  split  in  the  sewing,  but  it  does  not  appear  that 
it  is  systematically  done  for  the  purpose  of  ornamentation,  as  is  the 
case  with  the  Salish  and  Klikitat  tribes  of  the  farther  north.  The 
designs  are  in  splints  of  martynia  pod.  The  elements  of  decoration 
arc  in  threes  and,  doubtless,  have  symbolic  meanings,  but  these  are 
not  known.  Diameter,  11 J  inches;  height,  3i  inches. 


FIG.  203. 

COILED  GRANARY. 

Pima  Indians. 
Collected  by  Edward  Palmer. 


This  specimen,  Catalogue  No.  5548  in  the  IT.  S.  National  Museum, 
was  collected  in  Arizona  by  Edward  Palmer. 

Fig.  ^03  is  a  small  granary  of  the  Pima  Indians,  Piman  family,  in 
coiled  work.  The  foundation  is  a  bundle  of  wheat  straw  averaging 
about  half  an  inch  in  diameter.  The  sewing  is  done  in  willow  bark, 
the  strips  varying  in  width  from  a  quarter  to  half  an  inch.  No 
attempt  is  made  to  crowd  the  sewing  material  so  as  to  hide  the  founda 
tion;  indeed,  this  would  be  impossible  because  of  the  width  of  the 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  525 

willow  bark.  The  effect  on  the  surface  is  to  produce  almost  perpen 
dicular  lines  from  the  center  to  the  border.  New  rows  are  added  as 
the  coils  enlarge. 

The  Pirn  a  Indians  live  partly  on  vegetable  diet,  the  fruit  of  the 
mesquit  and  of  other  plants,  arid  they  use  the  granary  baskets  on  plat 
forms  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  the  dried  material  out  of  the  way  of 
rodents. 

To  make  the  detail  structure  more  clear  a  square  inch  is  given  in 
fig.  57. 

This  specimen,  Catalogue  No.  76046  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum, 
was  collected  in  Arizona  by  Edward  Palmer. 

Plate  235  represents  a  Pima  basketmaker.  The  Piman  family  have 
been  supposed  to  be  the  connecting  link  between  the  Shoshonean  of 
the  Great  Interior  Basin  and  the  Aztec  or  Nahuatl  family  of  Mexico. 
In  their  present  situation,  however,  they  are  cut  off  from  the  northern 
Shoshonean  by  the  extension  of  the  Yuman  family. 

MIDDLE  AND  SOUTH  AMEKICA 

This  genius  [Clotho]  led  the  souls  first  to  cloths,  and  drew  them  within  the  revolution  of  the  spindle 
impelled  by  the  hand. — PLATO'S  REPUBLIC. 

On  the  border  line  between  the  Republic  of  Mexico  and  the  United 
States  is  a  transition  between  the  standard  forms  which  have  hitherto 
been  studied  and  the  more  open  types  of  lace  work  and  loom  work. 
Coiled  basketry  of  well-known  varieties  continues  on  southward,  both 
in  the  lowlands  and  in  the  mountainous  regions  to  within  a  few  miles  of 
the  City  of  Mexico.  Variations  from  these  types  are  also  in  evidence, 
both  coiled  and  twined,  the  former  predominating.  Foundations  of 
grass  more  than  an  inch  thick  are  built  into  immense  baskets  for  carry 
ing  and  also  granaries,  the  sewing  being  done  with  wide  strips  of  bark, 
wood,  and  leaves.  Taking  these  coarse  baskets  for  a  motive,  smaller 
and  finer  ones  are  done  in  better  material,  but  still  the  stitches  are  half 
an  inch  apart.  There  is  no  occasion  for  surprise  in  this,  since  the  linguis 
tic  families  which  are  represented  in  Arizona,  New  Mexico,  and  Cali 
fornia  are  also  continued  into  the  Republic  of  Mexico.  In  this  area  the 
student  is  clearly  "  within  the  revolution  of  the  spindle."  In  addition 
to  the  coiled  work  just  mentioned  will  be  found  coiling  of  the  hammock 
type,  and,  interesting  to  know,  the  Chippewa  on  Lake  Superior  and 
the  Loucheux  type  on  the  Mackenzie  River  are  here  reproduced  in  the 
carrying  basket  (see  fig.  106).  Starting  out  from  very  plain,  coarse 
varieties  of  this  work,  it  passes  on  into  the  lace-work  burden  baskets 
of  the  Pima,  Papago,  and  Mohave.  The  figures  wrought  into  these 
lace-work  baskets  are  the  same  as  are  to  be  seen  in  the  labyrinthian 
patterns  on  the  basket  bowls  of  the  Pima.  Quite  as  interesting  as 
any  of  these  types,  the  wrapped  weaving  before  described  is  found  in 
burden  baskets  of  the  Mohave.  It  must  be  recalled  at  this  point, 


526  EEPOET    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 

however,  that  Hudson  mentions  the  same  style  of  workmanship  among 
the  Porno  Indians  for  roof  building  and  traps,  and  W.  H.  Holmes 
brought  from  California  a  framework  for  carrying  birds  in  which  the 
rods  are  held  in  place  by  a  similar  wrapping.  There  is  also  in  the 
National  Museum  an  old  coarse  mortar  basket  made  of  sticks  which 
are  bound  together  in  the  same  wa^y.  A  great  deal  of  twilled  and 
wicker  work  comes  from  the  neighborhood  of  the  City  of  Mexico  and 
from  Central  America,  and  a  species  of  coiled  sewing  which  exists 
sporadically  all  the  way  from  the  Arctic  Sea  to  Magellan  Straits. 
The  stitch,  in  addition  to  passing  around  the  foundations  to  hold  them 
together,  also  makes  a  wrap  about  the  standing  part  between  the  coils. 
Modern  coiled  ware  in  great  quantities  is  made  up  from  agave  fiber  of 
fine  quality,  but  it  resembles  African  work  more  than  American.  A 
variety  of  forms  and  uses  exist  in  baskets  in  Mexico;  among  others,  the 
immense  hats.  The  Caribs  on  the  Mosquito  Coast  of  Nicaragua  are  said 
to  have  plaited  a  pretty  water-tight  basket  of  reeds,  called  "  patapee," 
but  these  people  had  been  in  touch  with  natives  of  Africa,  who  knew 
how  to  make  water-tight  baskets  from  the  time  of  Moses  at  least. 
The  Tlaxcala  Indians  used  twined  weaving  in  making  slings.  Types 
of  work  just  mentioned  continue  on  into  the  Central  American  States. 
No  account  is  here  made  of  the  fine  weaving  and  needlework,  in  which 
typical  and  extraordinary  patterns  are  wrought,  because  they  are  across 
the  boundary  line  and  are  no  longer  in  the  family  of  basketry  made 
merely  by  hand  without  machineiy. 

Twined  basketry  and  matting  are  preserved  in  the  Peabody  Museum 
from  prehistoric  burial  caves  in  Coahuila,  Mexico;  among  the  Tlax 
cala  Indians  (Nahuatlan  family)  in  Central  Mexico;  from  prehistoric 
graves  at  Ancon,  Peru,  and  Arica,  Chile;  from  graves  at  Pisaqua, 
Chile;  from  the  Guatos  Indians  (Tapuyan  family),  in  southern  Brazil, 
and  from  the  Cadioes  Indians  (Guaycuruan  family),  on  the  Paragua 
River.  (C.  C.  Willoughby.) 

Plate  236,  U.  S.  National  Museum,  was  brought  by  Frank  Russell  from 
the  Yaqui  Indians  of  northern  Mexico.  It  is  in  the  form  of  the  so-called 
44  telescope  trunk,  "and  old  specimens  of  the  National  Museum  were  col 
lected  many  years  ago  by  Edward  Palmer.  The  material  is  a  kind  of 
rush,  and  the  weaving  is  in  twilled  work.  Such  baskets  are  employed 
for  holding  all  sorts  of  useful  articles,  but  especially  in  connection 
with  religious  practices  they  are  the  depository  of  charms  and  fetish 
objects. 

Plate  237,  in  the  collection  of  Dr.  A.  Hrdlicka,  shows  two  covered 
baskets  bandbox  shaped.  They  are  made  of  palm-leaf  strips  in  twilled 
weaving.  Hundreds  of  these  objects  are  woven  of  various  sizes,  and 
packed  in  nests,  and  are  the  common  receptacle  for  all  sorts  of  articles 
among  the  Yaqui.  Especial  attention  is  called  to  the  lower  basket,  since 
it  is  an  excellent  example  of  what  has  been  mentioned  several  times  in 
this  work — namely,  double  weaving.  Strips  of  palm  leaf  are  worked 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  527 

in  the  pairs,  the  upper  side  of  the  leaf  being  outermost.  At  any 
moment,  however,  these  strips  may  be  separated  and  .each  member  of 
the  pair  do  service  for  warp  or  weft  separately. 

The  Yaqui  of  Sonora,  Mexico,  says  Palmer,  split  the  stems  of 
arundinaria  for  basketry  by  pounding  them  carefully  with  stones.  The 
reeds  divide  along  the  lines  of  least  resistance  into  splints  of  varying 
width,  which  are  assorted  and  used  in  different  textures.  They  now 
manufacture  to  order  floor  mats,  porch  screens,  and  the  like,  and  sell 
them  in  Guaymas. 

The  Huichole  Indians,  living  in  the  State  of  Zacatecas,  Mexico, 
belong  to  the  Aztecan  branch  of  the  great  Shoshonean  family.  They 
have  been  described  b}T  Lumholtz,  and  are  living  in  a  state  of  native 
simplicity.  They  make  a  basket  2  or  3  feet  long  and  only  6  inches  in 
height  with  a  similar  cover.  The  material  is  palm  leaf  and  the  technic 
is  twilled  weaving.  Simibr  baskets  are  woven  by  the  Tarahumara 
(Piman),  State  of  Chihuahua,  and  also  by  the  Tepeguanos  (Pirnan)  in 
Durango,  Sinaloa,  Chihuahua,  and  Jalisco.  These  low,  tray-shaped, 
rectangular  baskets  with  covers  are  the  common  packing  cases  among 
these  tribes  mentioned  of  northern  Mexico.  (Hrdlicka.) 

A  wicker  basket  from  Santa  Maria  del  Kio,  14  leagues  south  of  San 
Luis  Potosi,  Mexico,  is  Catalogue  No.  76925,  U.  S.  National  Museum, 
made  from  the  prepared  stems  of  willow.  The  weaving  is  not  after  the 
fashion  of  the  common  market  basket,  but  its  parts  are  worked  3pirally 
in  such  manner  that  the  smaller  ends  of  the  stems  terminate  in  a  braided 
band  around  the  top  of  the  body.  (Compare  fig.  190.)  This  arrange 
ment  reminds  one  of  Dr.  Matthews's  Study  in  Butts  and  Tips."  The 
warp  consists  of  groups  of  fine  stems  arranged  in  fours.  As  the  bottom 
is  oblong,  five  of  the  groups  pass  straight  across  it  widthwise,  while 
at  the  ends  others  radiate  from  the  foci  of  the  ellipse.  The  weft  of 
the  bottom  is  formed  by  means  of  fourteen  stems,  seven  of  which  run 
in  one  direction  and  seven  in  the  other,  the  smaller  ends  being  fastened 
off  on  the  border.  The  body  is  built  up  in  the  same  way.  In  the 
ordinary  wicker  basket  a  stem  is  woven  among  the  warps,  and  when 
the  end  is  reached  another  stem  takes  its  place,  and  so  on;  but  in 
this  example  all  the  weft  stems  of  the  body  begin  at  the  very  bottom 
and  are  wound  in  a  spiral  up  to  the  upper  margin.  At  this  border  the 
warp  stems  are  all  bent  to  the  right  for  an  inch  and  a  half  and  then 
turned  back  again,  being  intertwined  in  a  sort  of  openwork  diagonal 
weaving.  To  form  the  handle  seven  stems  on  each  side  are  thrust 
between  the  weft,  and  these  bundles  are  wrapped  about  each  other  to 
form  the  twisted  handle,  the  smaller  ends  being  deflected  so  that  the 
ends  of  the  stems  which  form  the  body  and  the  ends  of  the  handle  and 
the  stems  of  the  body  are  all  woven  together  to  form  the  braid-work 
at  the  top.  Collected  by  Edward  Palmer. 

^American  Anthropologist,  Washington,  V,  1892,  pp.  345-350. 


528  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 

H.  Ling-  Roth,  in  his  paper  on  the  aborigines  of  Hispaniola,"  says 
that  although  none  of  the  histories  make  reference  to  the  island  in 
which  baskets  were  manufactured,  nor  even  to  the  material  out  of 
which  they  are  made,  there  is  occasional  mention  of  them,  proving 
that  formerly,  as  now,  the  Caribs  and  their  tribes  knew  how  to  weave 
basket  work.  The  Spaniards  both  in  Ilispaniola  and  Cuba  on  several 
occasions  found  men's  heads  cut  off  and  sewed  up  with  great  care  in 
small  baskets.  He  quotes  Benzoni  in  speaking  of  a  feast  in  which 
baskets  were  adorned  with  roses  and  various  flowers.  Columbus  found 
baskets  in  Guadeloupe  full  of  men's  bones. 

A  glance  at  the  map  of  northern  South  America  shows  how  easy  it 
is  to  pass  from  the  Windward  Islands  up  the  Orinoco  and  over  the 
drainage  of  the  Rio  Negro,  down  to  the  Amazon.  On  this  central 
position  it  is  not  difficult  to  make  communication  with  the  highlands 
of  middle  Brazil,  Bolivia,  eastern  Peru,  and  Ecuador,  and  to  pass  from 
the  Xingu  River  to  Paraguay  is  easy.  This  explanation  will  clear 
the  way  for  the  collection  of  baskets  now  to  be  described. 

The  seventieth  parallel  from  Greenwich  may  be  used  to  divide  South 
America  into  east  and  west  basketry  sub-areas.  The  West  Indies  will 
be  counted  with  the  eastern  portions.  The  few  widespread  linguistic 
families  serve  as  a  bond  to  hold  the  tribes  in  mind.  At  the  extreme 
north  the  Carib  and  the  Arawak  are  conspicuous;  the  Tupi-Guarani 
and  the  Geez  answer  for  Brazil;  over  the  Amazon  watershed,  the 
La  Plata  areas,  the  Gran  Chaco  tribes  follow.  Patagonia  and  Fuegia 
completes  the  series.  Over  a  large  portion  of  this  eastern  region  the 
types  of  weaving  practiced  in  the  Southern  States  of  the  Union  pre 
vail.  On  the  western  side  of  the  continent,  in  the  Andean  valleys, 
the  basketry  is  more  varied  and  interesting,  as  the  description  and 
illustrations  will  show.  The  information  which  follows  is  far  from 
complete.  The  little  which  is  said  will  serve  at  least  as  a  starting 
point  and  show  that  aboriginally  and  technical!}7  there  was  only  one 
America. 

Plate  238  shows  an  Indian  woman  standing  in  front  of  the  agave 
plant — a  fitting  combination,  since  in  Mexico,  Central  America,  and 
northern  portions  of  South  America  the  agave  is  to  the  native  popu 
lation  an  enduring  friend.  In  modern  industries  it  has  not  lost  its 
influence.  The  lechiguilla,  ixtl,  sisal,  and  other  standard  fibers  are 
therefrom.  In  old  times  it  was  the  substance  from  which  receptacles, 
clothing,  parts  of  household  utensils  and  conveniences,  and  many 
other  useful  things  were  made.  The  figure  standing  in  front  of  the 
plant  might  be  called  the  Clotho  of  the  agave,  whose  skillful  fingers 
will  turn  the  ideal  plant  into  many  supplies  of  wants. 

Baskets  from  British  Guiana  are  like  those  described  by  E.  E.  im 
Thurn  in  his  work  entitled  Among  the  Indians  of  British  Guiana. 

«  Journal  of  the  Anthropological  Institute  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  XVI,  p.  283. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  529 

The  specimens  in  the  National  Museum  are  all  of  the  twilled  pattern, 
wrought  from  a  brown  vegetable  fiber  which  shows  the  same  on  both 
sides.  This  twill  is  used  with  good  effect  in  the  diagonally  woven 
cassava  strainers,  widely  distributed,  which  may  be  contracted  in 
length  by  a  corresponding  increase  of  width.  When  the  cassava  is 
packed  into  this  strainer  the  latter  is  suspended  and  a  great  weight 
fastened  to  the  bottom.  The  same  device  is  used  among  us  by  country 
housewives  in  making  curds.  There  is  an  entire  lack  of  gaudy  dyes  in 
the  Guiana  baskets,  the  only  colors  being  the  natural  hue  of  the  wood 
and  a  jet-black  varnish.  The  gorgeous  plumage  of  the  birds  replace 
the  dyes  in  ornamentation.  (See  Plate  239.) 

The  material  used  for  basket  work  among  the  Indians  of  Guiana  is 
the  split  stem  of  a  kind  of  maranta  (IscJmosvphon)  called  iturite  by 
the  Indians.  For  rough  work  other  species  of  iturite  are  used,  and 
for  the  roughest  of  all  the  unsplit  stems  of  certain  creepers,  especially 
one  called  by  the  Indians  mamamoorie  (Carludovica  plumierii). 

The  so-called  pegalls  (packalls)  are  square  general^.  The  basket 
and  lid  are  the  same  shape;  the  Litter,  being  larger,  slips  over  the 
former  and  entirely  covers  it.  Many  Caribs  made  their  pegalls  of  an 
oblong  shape,  with  gracefully  curved  lines,  and  adorn  them  with  long 
strings  of  thick,  white  cotton  on  which  are  knots  of  colored  feathers. 
Sometimes  the  true  Caribs  make  the  pegall  and  lid  double,  and  between 
the  two  layers  of  basket  work  certain  leaves  (Ischnosiphon)  are  inserted 
to  make  the  whole  waterproof.  Here  is  another  example  of  double 
warp  noted  in  several  parts  of  North  America. 

Another  basket,  shaped  like  a  slipper,  is  the  suriana,  for  carrying 
heavy  loads.  This  useful  form  has  a  wide  distribution,  being  seen  in 
Guatemala.  The  "quake,"  another  basket,  is  used  for  storing  pro 
visions.  They  also  serve  as  cages.  It  is  made  of  open  wicker  work 
with  a  rounded  bottom.  Most  of  the  baskets  are  manufactured  in  the 
same  way  and  of  the  same  material.  The  Nikari  karus,  living  on  the 
Brazilian  borders,  make  their  pegalls  of  the  leaves  of  the  palm 
(Orbignd),  very  rare  in  British  Guiana.  These  are  square  or  oblong. a 

Plates  240  and  241  are  from  photographs  presented  by  the  distin 
guished  ethnologist,  Carl  von  den  Steinen.  They  represent  carrying 
baskets  from  eastern  Brazil  in  the  collection  of  the  Berlin  Ethno 
graphic  Museum.  In  order  to  bring  the  structure  into  comparison, 
baskets  of  the  same  function  were  selected.  The  following  descrip 
tions,  aided  by  the  photographs,  will  make  plain  the  structure. 

Plate  240,  fig.  1,  is  a  carrying  basket  (hasiri)  of  the  Jamamadi 
Indians,  living  on  the  Rio  Purus,  in  the  collection  of  Paul  Ehrenreich. 
The  warp  is  crossed  and  the  weft  passes  through  the  warp  in  regular 
order,  so  as  to  produce  hexagonal  openings.  The  border  is  formed 

«E.  F.  im  Thnrn,  Among  the  Indians  of  British  Guiana,  p.  282,  London,  1883. 
NAT   MUS   1902 34 


530  REPOKT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1902. 

b}T  simply  turning  over  the  ends  of  the  warp  and  weaving  them  back 
ward.  The  head  strap  is  a  wide  strip  of  inner  hark.  Prof.  J.  B. 
Steere  collected  for  the  IT.  S.  National  Museum  a  fine  specimen  of 
this  same  type  of  weaving  of  the  Jamamadi,  resembling,  in  fact,  fig.  2 
of  this  plate.  (See  Plate  95,  fig.  5.) 

Fig.  2  is  a  carrying  basket  (shibati)  of  the  Hypurina  Indians,  living 
on  the  Rio  Purus,  collected  by  Paul  Ehrenreich.  The  warp  is  crossed 
and  the  weaving  is  done  as  in  fig.  1,  but  there  are  twice  as  many  weft 
splints,  the  hexagonal  spaces  being  crossed  by  them.  The  border  is 
formed  by  a  hoop  of  wood.  Strips  are  attached  to  the  side  of  the 
basket  for  strength,  and  string  loops  at  the  top  for  attachment  of  the 
head  band,  which  is  in  tough  inner  bark  of  a  tree,  as  in  No.  I. 

Fig.  3  is  a  carrying  basket  (koho)  from  the  Paressi  Indians,  on  the 
upper  Tapajoz  River,  Brazil,  in  the  collection  of  Dr.  Oirl  von  den 
Steinen.  This  is  an  elegant  piece  of  work  and  worthy  of  study.  One- 
half  of  the  warp  elements  are  vertical  and  the  other  inclined.  The  weft 
passes  through  the  interstices  formed  by  the  crossed  warp  in  twos  and 
threes.  At  the  top  a  hoop  is  used  for  strengthening;  the  warp  turned 
back  and  held  firm  by  a  single  row  of  three-strand  weaving.  On  the 
sides  a  rope  is  attached  to  the  weft  elements  for  loops  and  the  head 
band  is  made,  as  in  the  other  specimens,  from  the  tough  inner  bark  of 
a  tree. 

Fig.  -i  is  a  children's  carrying  basket  (mayaku)  of  the  Bakairi  Indians, 
on  the  upper  Xingu  River,  Bra/11,  and  tig.  5  an  example  for  adults 
by  the  same  tribe,  from  the  collection  of  Dr.  von  den  Steinen.  They 
are  made  of  four  elongated  hoops  of  wood.  One  furnishes  the  bed  or 
bottom  of  the  frame,  two  others  the  sides,  and  the  smaller  one  the  end. 
Those  who  are  accustomed  to  studying  utensils  used  in  transportation 
will  recogni/e  in  these  two  frames  African  forms.  They  are  not 
basket  work,  either  of  them,  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  word,  since  the 
webbing  which  fills  up  the  hoops  is  true  network  of  string;  the  cross 
ings  form  regular  knots.  In  both  examples  the  headband  is  of  bast, 
or  the  inner  bark  of  a  tree,  and  in  the  larger  the  binding  of  the  bottom 
is  in  the  same  material. 

Plate  241,  fig.  1,  is  a  carrying  basket  (kodrabo)  of  the  Bororo 
Indians,  on  the  Rio  Sao  Lourenco,  Brazil,  in  the  collection  of  Dr.  von 
den  Steinen.  It  is  in  palm  leaf,  in  regular  twilled  weaving  common 
throughout  the  world.  The  interesting  portion,  which  ought  not  to  be 
overlooked,  is  the  border,  which  is  the  midrib  of  the  palm  leaf,  with 
the  leaflets  attached.  The  carrying  band  or  headband,  as  in  other 
examples,  is  in  tough  inner  bark  of  a  tree. 

Fig.  2  is  a  carrying  basket  of  the  Kabischi  Indians,  on  the  upper 
Xingu  River,  in  the  collection  of  Hermann  Meyer,  found  in  an 
abandoned  camp.  The  weaving  is  in  twilled  work,  forming  rhom- 
boidal  patterns  on  the  surface.  The  top  of  the  basket  is  round  and 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


531 


strengthened  with  a  hoop.     The  bottom  is  square,  held  in  shape  by 
sticks,  and  carried  by  means  of  a  headband  of  bark. 

Fig.  3  is  a  carrying  basket  (Ayacapeana  guarani)  of  the  Kaingua 
Indians,  on  the  Rio  Alto  Parana,  collected  by  Rohde  Ambrosetti  in 
southern  Brazil.  It  is  an  elaborate  specimen  built  on  a  framework 
with  a  round  hoop  at  the  top  and  two  ox-bow  shaped  pieces  of  wood 
crossing  under  the  bottom  to  give  shape  to  the  body.  The  upper  part 
of  the  surface  is  in  wicker  work.  A  band  around  the  middle  in  twilled 
weaving  is  ornamented  with  rhomboidal  patterns  and  the  lower  part 
is  also  covered  with  wicker  work.  The  headband  is  in  tough  bark. 

Fig.  4  is  a  carrying 
basket  (apoi)  made  by  the 
Warrau  Indians,"  on  the 
Rio  Orinoco-Guy uni  in 
Guiana.  The  framework 
and  covering  are  interest 
ing  on  account  of  the  dis 
tribution  of  this  peculiar 
form,  which  may  be  found 
as  far  north  as  Guatemala 
and  around  the  Caribbean 
Sea.  The  work  is  in 
twilled  weaving,  and  the 
border  is  formed  by  strips 
of  wood  sewed  to  the 
upper  edge.  The  head 
band  is  in  two-strand 
rope. 

Nieuhoff  describes  the 
Brazilian  basketry  of  his 
day." 

The  baskets  of  the  In 
dians  of  southern  Brazil 
are  made  of  palm-tree 
leaves.  The}^  call  them 
patigua.  They  have  also  some  made  of  reed  or  of  cane.  These  are 
with  one  general  name  called  karamemoa.  They  make  also  large 
broad  baskets  of  reeds  arid  branches  twisted  together.  These  they 
call  panaku,  and  are  chiefly  used  for  the  carrying  of  the  mandioka 
root.  In  their  journeys  they  always  make  use  of  the  patigua,  but  the 
panaku  is  used  by  the  slaves  and  negroes  in  the  Receif  for  the  con- 
veniency  of  carriage. 

The  Guatos  Indians  in  southern  Brazil  employ  twined  weaving  in 
the  manufacture  of  mantles  and  the  Cadricios  Indians  on  the  Paraqua 
River  make  grass  bags  in  the  same  technic. 

«  Voyages  in  Brazil,  in  Churchill,  II,  p.  132, 


FIG.  204. 
CARRYING  NET. 

Araucanian  Indians. 


532 


KKPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 


The  figure  of  an  Araucanian  woman  acting  as  both  freight  and 
passenger  carrier  is  introduced  from  De  Schryver"  to  show  the  exten 
sion  of  the  buttonhole  stitch  technic  southward.  The  insertion  of  a 
foundation  in  coiled  work  is  not  common  farther  north,  but  will  be 

again  noted  at  the  very  extremity 
of  the  continent.  (See  fig.  204:.) 
The  basketry  of  South  America 
reaches  its  southern  limit  in  the 
Fuegian  coiled  ware  with  slight 
foundation  and  sewing  in  button 
hole  stitches,  illustrated  in  fig.  59. 
Coming  over  to  the  western  side 
of  the  continent,  fig.  205  is  a  coiled 
carrying  bag  from  Chiriqui,  Co 
lombia,  and  is  a  type  of  an  enor 
mous  amount  of  ware  to  be  found 
in  Middle  America,  North  Amer 
ica,  and  SoutTi  A  merica.  It  is  rep 
resented  in  fig.  :!-2,  and  is  called  in 
this  monograph  c'  iled  work  with 
out  foundation  .  It  will  be  seen, 
by  looking  at  the  detail,  that  the 
twine  constituting  the  fabric  inter 
locks  with  the  stitch  underneath  and  makes  a  complete  revolution,  catch 
ing  the  next  stitch,  and  so  on.  Without  definite  information  on  the  sub 
ject,  it  is  believed  that  in  making  these  bags  some  sort  of  a  gauge  is  used 
by  the  weaver— a  small  stick  which  may  be  slipped  along  as  the  work 
proceeds. 

The  detail  is  shown  in  fig.  206,  and 
especial  attention  is  called  to  the 
ornamental  effect  of  using  a  two-ply 
twine  and  the  additional  decorative 
feature  of  having  the  twines  in  dif 
ferent  colors. 

The  fil  >ers  of  the  Middle  Americans 
and  Mexicans  are  of  the  best  kind  and 
texture,  and  are  used  in  hammocks 
and  for  the  most  exacting  labor  in 
transportation. 

An  interesting  example  of  the  friendly  cooperation  between  the 
best  material  and  the  best  workmen  is  to  be  found  in  the  Republic  of 
Ecuador  in  the  manufacture  of  the  so-called  Panama  hat.  In  Con 
sular  Report  No.  821  Consul  Perry  M.  de  Leon  gives  the  following 


FIG.  205. 

CARRYING   NET. 

Chiriqui,  Colombia. 


FIG.  206. 
)KTAIL  OF  FIG 


205. 


"Simon  de  Schryver,  Koyaume  d'Araucanie-Patagonie,  1887. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  533 

account  of  it:  The  Manavi  (Panama)  hat  was  first  made  in  the  province 
of  Manavi,  Ecuador,  about  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  years  ago  by  a 
native  named  Francisco  Delgado.  The  present  centers  of  the  industry 
are  Monte  Cristi  and  Jipijapa  in  the  province  of  Manavi,  and  Santa 
Elena  and  Cuenca  in  the  provinces  of  Guayas  and  Azuay,  respectively. 
They  came  to  be  known  as  Panama  hats  years  ago  when  that  city  was  a 
distributing  center.  Those  who  are  familiar  with  them  can  tell  by  the 
method  of  beginning  the  work  at  the  center  of  the  crown  the  locality" 
where  the  work  is  done.  In  Ecuador,  Colombia,  and  Central  America 
the  hat  is  known  to  the  natives  as  the  Jipijapa  (pronounced  hipi-hapa), 
but  as  they  are  made  elsewhere  in  Ecuador,  principally  in  the  province 
of  Manavi,  and  as  the  name  is  easy  to  pronounce,  it  might  take  the  place 
of  the  present  misleading  appellation.  (See  Plate  242.) 

They  are  made  from  a  native  species  of  palm  (Carludomcapalmata). 
It  is  cultivated  in  the  provinces  of  Manavi  and  Guayas  and  is  known  as 
"paja  toquilla."  In  appearance  it  resembles  very  much  our  saw  pal 
metto:  it  is  fan-like  in  shape.  Low-lying  wet  land  is  selected  and  the 
seed  planted  in  rows  during  the  rainy  season.  When  the  plant  attains 
a  height  of  4i  or  5  feet  it  is  cut  just  before  ripening.  The  leaves  are 
boiled  in  hot  water  and  after  being  thoroughly  sun  dried  are  assorted 
and  ready  for  use. 

The  material  is  first  carefully  selected,  dampened  to  make  it  pliable, 
then  very  finely  divided  into  requisite  widths,  the  little  finger  and 
thumb  nail  being  used  for  the  purpose.  The  very  finest  specimens 
are  prepared  from  delicate  leaves  that  need  no  splitting  or  stiffening. 
The  plaiting  begins  at  the  apex  of  the  crown  and  is  continued  in  cir 
cular  form  until  the  hat  is  finished.  The  story  that  they  are  made 
under  water  by  candle  light  is  untrue.  The  work  is  carried  on  while 
the  atmosphere  is  humid,  from  about  midnight  to  7  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  At  night  the  hat  is  hung  out  in  the  open  air  so  that  the 
dew  may  fall  upon  it,  and  it  is  then  in  position  to  be  worked  the  next 
day.  If  the  strand  breaks  it  can  be  replaced  and  so  plaited  so  as  not  to 
affect  the  work  nor  be  visible  to  the  naked  eye.  The  ingenious  woman 
uses  her  knee  for  a  head  block.  This  antedates  all  modern  appliances 
for  giving  shape  to  head  gear.  It  requires  from  three  to  five  months 
daily  labor  of  three  hours  a  day  to  make  one  of  the  finest  hats.  The 
business  in  its  highest  development  is  really  an  art,  requiring  patience, 
fine  sight,  and  special  skill — qualifications  few  of  the  natives  possess. 
The  plaiting  completed,  the  hat  is  washed  in  clean,  cold  water,  coated 
with  a  thin  solution  of  gum,  and  polished  with  dry  powdered  sulphur. 
They  are  so  pliable  that  they  can  be  rolled  up  without  injury  and  put 
in  one's  pocket.  They  will  last  for  years  and  can  be  repeatedly  cleaned. 

Natives  of  both  sexes  and  all  ages  are  engaged  in  this  work  at  odd 
times,  the  business  being  a  side  issue.  Children  make  from  raw, 
undressed  straw  about  two  of  the  common  hats  a  day. 


534  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

V 

The  specimen  here  shown  is  in  the  collection  of  Dr.  S.  O.  Richey, 
of  Washington  City,  and  has  20  or  more  crossings  to  the  linear 
inch.  The  hats  vary  from  the  ordinary  form  having  18  crossings  or 
checks  to  the  finest  quality,  which  have  twice  as  many.  In  the  market 
they  are  sold  at  from  $10  to  $150.  The  most  costly  specimens  are 
those  in  which  there  is  not  a  break  in  the  straw,  mismatched  color,  or 
a  knot  showing  in  the  work. 

During  the  nineteenth  century  the  cemeteries  of  Peru  yielded  the 
greatest  abundance  of  relics  and  remains.  Among  the  former  were  a 
mixed  variet}T  of  textiles,  which  were  types  of  basketry  hereafter  to  be 
described.  The  climate  of  Peru  is  arid  and  almost  a  desert  like  that 
of  Arizona  or  Egypt.  The  frail  products  of  the  textile  industry  that 
might  have  perished  utterly  in  North  America  almost  everywhere 
have  here  all  been  preserved.  Fine  specimens  of  old  Peruvian  work 
are  to  be  seen  in  all  the  leading  museums  of  the  world.  The  Field 
Columbian  in  Chicago  is  especially  rich  in  productions  of  this  kind, 
gathered  through  the  agency  of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition 
in  1893. 

In  the  Peabody  Museum  and  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  also  are 
fine  old  collections  brought  home  fifty  years  ago  by  earlier  travelers 
arid  explorers  in  South  America,  and  in  this  Peruvian  basketware  are 
to  be  seen  not  on]y  great  varieties  in  form  and  exhaustive  treatment 
of  native  technical  processes  but  adaptations  to  uses  without  number 
extending  literally  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave. 

The  name  Peru  has  for  the  ethnologist  a  long  perspective  in  time, 
reaching  through  many  centuries;  in  elevation  it  covers  the  range  of 
habitable  areas  from  reeking  seacoasts  to  heights  barely  endurable  by 
man.  In  coast  line  it  stretches  through  15  degrees  of  south  latitude 
(5°  to  20°).  Only  in  width  is  it  restricted  to  the  narrow  watershed  of 
the  Andes  and  a  slight  portion  of  the  incline  on  the  eastern  side, 
reaching  down  to  the  forest  line.  The  most  celebrated  of  the  explora 
tions  in  this  area  have  been  by  Reiss,  Stubel,  and  Koppel." 

These  authors  figure  the  following-named  types  of  basketry: 

1.  Checkerwork:  In  this  connection  should  be  noted  a  kind  of  open 
work  in  which  the  warps  are  set  at  an  angle  of  4:5  degrees,  running  in 
two  directions,  forming  diamond-shaped  spaces.     A  weft  passes  around 
among  these  warps  so  as  to  divide  the  diamond-shaped  spaces  into  tri 
angles.     Such  weaving  is  seen  in  many  specimens  of  the  North  Pacific 
area;  even  the  Aleutian  islanders  practice  it.      It  has  been  already 
described  and  figured  in  von  den  Steinen's  plates  for  the  eastern  area. 

2.  Wickerwork,  in  Colombia  and  Uruguay. 

3.  Diagonal  or  twilled  work,  widely  diffused. 

4.  Twined  work  has  been  recovered  from  prehistoric  graves  at 
Ancon,  Peru,  in  matting,  both  coarse  and  fine,  and  on  baskets;  from 

«  Kultur  und  Industrie  Siidamerikanischer  VOlker,  Berlin,  1889. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


535 


prehistoric  graves  at  Arica,  Chile,  in  the  structure  of  small  wallets  of 
basketry;  and  from  graves  at  Pisagua,  Chile,  in  baskets.  On  other 
st}^les  of  manufacture  a  row  or  two  intrudes  itself. 

5.  Coiled  work  without  foundation  is  universally  distributed.  With 
foundation  of  fine  splints  it  occurs  also  as  will  be  seen." 

In  the  plates  of  these  authors  the  following-named  technical  processes 
will  be  seen: 

Plate  8,  fig.  1,  wicker-work  basket  from  Bogota,  Colombia. 

Fig.  2,  crossed  warp,  open  weaving,  from  Pasto,  Colombia. 

Fig.  3,  diagonal  weaving  from  Pasto,  Colombia. 

Fig.  4>  twilled  weaving  from  Panama,  Colombia. 

Fig.  5,  wicker  from  Andaqui,  Colombia. 

Figs.  6  and  7,  diagonal  weaving  from  Otavalio,  Colombia. 

Fig.  8,  twilled  weaving  from  Bogota,  Colombia. 


FIG.  207. 
ANCIENT  PERUVIAN  WORK  BASKET. 

After  W.  H.  Holmes. 


Fig.  9,  coiled  nasketry  from  Copacabana,  Bolivia. 

Fig.  10,  diagonal  weaving  from  Quito,  Ecuador. 

Figs.  11  and  12,  twilled  weaving  from  Rio  de  Janeiro,  Brazil. 

Fig.  13,  coarse,  diagonal  weaving  from  Guallabamba,  Ecuador. 

Fig.  14,  open  coiled  basket-box  from  Bogota,  Colombia. 

Fig.  15,  plaited  fans  from  Cocamilla  Indians,  Peru. 

Fig.  16,  diagonal  weaving,  fan,  Papayan,  Colombia. 

Fig.  17,  checker,  oblique  weaving  from  Cocamilla  Indians,  Peru. 

Fig.  18,  wicker  strainer  for  mate  from  Cerro  Largo,  Uruguay. 

Fig.  19,  diagonal  weaving,  tray,  from  Brazil. 

Figs.  207  to  211  are  twilled  basketry  found  deposited  with  the  dead 
in  a  cemetery  at  Ancon,  Peru.  They  are  made  of  rushes  and  exhibit  a 
great  variety  of  forms,  as  may  be  seen  by  examining  the  drawings  on  the 

«  Compare  nos.  13039, 13096  in  Eleventh  Annual  Report  of  the  Peabody  Museum, 
p.  280,  fig.  3;  p.  292,  fig.  18. 


536 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 


cover  of  fig.  207.  Across  the  middle  are  two  rows  of  ordinary  over- 
two  twilled  weaving,  seen  also  in  detail  in  fig.  208.  A  noticeable  fea 
ture  on  other  specimens,  however,  to  which  attention  is  drawn  by 
Holmes a  and  to  which  he  gives  the  name  diagonal  combination,  is  the 
production  of  triangular  figures.  The  weaver  in  going  from  right  to 
left  produces  the  effect  of  right-angle  triangles,  but  in  returning  so 
regulates  the  decussations  of  the  fibers  as  to  give  to  the  pairs  of  tri- 


FlG.  20X. 

DETAIL   OF   FIG,   207. 
After  W.  H.  Holmes. 


FIG.  209. 

DETAIL  OF   A   PERUVIAN   BASKET. 
After  W.  II.  Holmes. 


angles  of  the  two  rows  a  common  hypothenuse,    The  effect  of  this  com 
bination  is  magical,  leaving  the  impression  of  high  relief.     (Fig.  209.) 
But  the  most  charming  effects  in  these  Peruvian  workbaskets  are 
brought  about  by  the  use  of  narrow  strips  of  wood,  over  which  the 

plaiting  takes  place  and  by  which  broad  bands  of 

twilled  work  are  produced.     This  result  is  manifest 

in  figs.  210  and 

211. 

Another  char 
acteristic  of  this 

Peruvian    work 

is  the  hinging  of 

the  cover  of  the 

basket  as  part  of 

the  weaving.    In 

Plate  243,  evidently  the  workbasket  of  an  ancient  spinner  in  Vicuna 
wool,  there  is  a  single  cover,  but  it  will  be  seen  that  the  modern  com 
partment  trunk  has  been  anticipated,  the  basket  being  in  three  divi 
sions,  the  middle  one  forming  the  cover  of  the  lower  one.  The  detail 
of  the  hinge  as  a  part  of  the  texture  may  bo  seen  in  the-small  drawings 
at  the  bottom  of  the  plate. 

Plate  244  is  a  twined  carrying  frame  from  the  graves  of  Iquique, 
southern  Peru.  The  f  ramework  consists  of  three  sticks,  bent  in  the 
shape  of  an  oxbow,  crossing  each  other  at  the  bottom  so  as  to  give  to 


FIG.  210. 

DETAIL    OF  A    PERUVIAN 
BASKET. 


FIG.  211. 
DETAIL  OF  A  PERUVIAN  BASKET. 


«  W.  H.  Holmes,  A  Study  in  the  Textile  Art,  Sixth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau 
of  American  Ethnology,  p.  206,  figs.  297-299. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY. 


537 


the  top  the  form  of  an  oblique  hexagon.  The  ends  are  held  in  place 
by  a  stout  cord  of  hair  in  natural  brown  color.  The  warp  of  this 
basket  is  formed  by  winding-  a  white  string  round  and  round  these 
sticks  on  the  outside,  about  one-eighth  of  an  inch  apart,  from  the 
bottom  to  the  top.  The  weft  is  a  series  of  vertical  rows  of  twined 
weaving,  in  some  places  close  together  and  in  others  wide  apart,  for 
ornamental  effect.  The  vertical  stripes  seen  on  the  surface  are  in 
green,  red,  black,  and  white,  twined,  and  in  twined  weaving,  each  block 
including  two  or  more  warp  strands.  By  using  two  colors  in  the  twine 
the  patterns  are  variegated  on  the  surface,  first  the  white  and  then  the 
colored  strand  coming  into  view.  By  comparing  these  specimens  with 
the  one  from  the  Arikara  Indians,  %.  125,  it  will  be  seen  that  in  the 
latter  two  of  the  bows  projected  downward  and  formed  the  bottom,  on 
which  the  basket  rests.  But  in  this  case  no  such  protection  is  afforded. 
The  woman  has  sewed  a  coarse  piece  of  woven  stuff  along  the  bottom 


FIG.  212. 
ANCIENT  COILED  BASKET  FROM  CHILE. 


as  a  protection  of  the  more  delicate  threads.  The  specimen  is  in  the 
Field  Columbian  Museum,  Chicago,  and  the  colored  plate  was  fur 
nished  by  Dr.  George  A.  Dorsey. 

Fig.  212  is  a  fragment  of  a  coiled  basket  from  a  copper  mine  in  the 
district  of  Chuquicamata  in  the  desert  of  Atacama,  Chile.  It  was 
found,  together  with  other  industrial  implements,  associated  with  the 
bod}^  of  a  woman  who  undoubtedly  met  her  death  on  the  spot.  From 
the  dislocated  backbone  and  the  small  stones  embedded  in  the  skin,  it 
is  supposed  that  she  was  buried  by  a  caving  in  of  the  works.  The 
basket  of  which  this  is  a  fragment,  was  in  every  respect  similar  to  the 
Pima  ware  in  southern  Arizona.  This  fragment  bears  such  remarkable 
similarity  to  Pima  workmanship  that  J.  W.  Benham,  of  Arizona,  who 
is  most  familiar  with  it,  was  struck  with  the  Chilean  example  and 
wondered  whether  it  were  possible  that  the  Pima  Indians  and  the 
Chileans  could  have  been  under  the  same  instructors. 


538  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

Plates  245  to  247  are  also  specimens  of  coiled  work  exhibited  in 
the  Pan-American  Exposition,  with  the  mummy  from  Chile;  the 
foundation  of  the  coil  of  shredded  material  and  the  sewing  also  in  soft 
splints.  The  stitches  pass  over  the  foundation  and  are  not  only  inter 
locking  but  take  up  a  portion  of  the  foundation  in  its  base  below. 
These  should  be  compared  with  the  specimens  from  northern  Mexico 
in  the  Peabodv  Museum,  described  by  C.  C.  Willousfhby. 

*j  •/  o  «7 

Plate  248  is  the  side  'and  bottom  view  of  a  coiled  basket  from  Peru. 
The  style  is  entirely  modern,  but  it  is  introduced  here  to  show  two 
features  in  technic  well  wrought  out  in  the  northern  continent.  The 
foundation  and  the  sewing  are  both  in  a  brilliant-colored  straw,  species 
unknown.  Sewing  is  reduced  to  the  minimum,  most  of  the  founda 
tion  being  neatly  wrapped,  or  served  with  the  sewing  material.  The 
stitches  on  the  body  are  bifurcated  most  neatly,  and  coming  one  above 
the  other  give  the  impression  of  herringbone  work  done  vertically. 
Finding  this  openwork  coil  and  furcate  stitches  in  Eskimo  land,  Cali 
fornia,  and  Peru  would  tempt  one  to  see  the  same  invention  arising 
independently  in  regions  wide  apart;  but,  omitting  the  unlimited 
going  about  in  pre-Columbian  times,  during  hundreds  of  years  the 
sovereigns  of  Spain,  France,  England,  and  for  a  century  Russia  mixed 
the  native  tribes  and  their  industries.  Catalogue  No.  150844,  IT.  S. 
National  Museum. 

The  two  areas  of  South  America,  eastern  and  western,  unite  in  the 
Straits  of  Magellan.  There  are  three  linguistic  families  of  Indians, 
among  whom  two  types  of  basketiy  are  found  belonging  to  the  coiled 
variety.  They  are  made  by  women  of  Juncn*  magellanicus.  Descrip 
tions  and  figures  of  the  stitches  involved  will  be  found  in  the  Revue 
d'Ethnographie."  See  also  Lovisto.7'  The  rim  is  made  of  wood  veya 
or  tshelia.  The  specimens  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  are  all  of  one 
variety,  the  sewing  being  in  the  buttonhole  stitch,  so  called,  and  in 
openwork.  Nothing  of  the  kind  exists  in  the  neighborhood,  so  that 
it  is  within  the  limits  of  possibility  that  the  style  of  technic  was 
introduced. 

In  summing  up  what  has  been  said  on  basketiy  in  the  Western 
Hemisphere  it  would  seem  that  all  the  types  and  processes  known 
throughout  the  world  are  to  be  seen  here. 

VIII.     COLLECTORS  AND  COLLECTIONS 

As  David  and  the  Sibyl  say — THOMAS  OF  CELANO. 

Basketry  and  pottery  are  the  Sibylline  leaves  on  which  are  written 
the  thoughts  and  lore  of  our  Indians.  Already  much  has  gone  beyond 
recovery;  it  is  for  this  reason  that  a  good  word  is  here  spoken  for 
those  lovers  of  art  who  have  spent  time  and  means  in  redeeming  the 

«  Paris,  IV,  p.  517.  &Guida  Cora's  Cosmos,  October,  1884,  pi.  v. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  539 

more  perishable  of  the  two  treasures  from  destruction.  Pottery  may 
be  broken,  but  its  fragments  endure  and  bear  witness.  Not  so  bas 
ketry,  made  of  the  most  perishable  portions  of  plants,  it  can  endure 
only  when  in  contact  with  preservative  materials,  or  partly  reduced 
to  ashes,  or  deposited  in  caves  and  other  dry  places,  or  finally,  their 
technic  but  not  their  story  may  be  saved  by  impressions  left  on 
pottery. 

The  following  instructions  are  published  for  the  great  number  of 
persons  who  are  interested  in  the  collection  and  preservation  of 
American  basketry.  Besides  the  aesthetic  elements  involved  and  the 
pride  of  saving  the  best  examples  of  a  rapidly  vanishing  industry, 
there  is  a  vast  deal  of  culture  study  which  ought  not  to  be  neglected. 

In  every  collection,  public  or  private,  there  are  opportunities  for 
special  investigation  that  should  not  be  in  the  possession  of  a  single 
individual  only.  If  all  who  are  gathering  baskets  would  preserve  such 
information  as  they  ma}r  be  able  to  obtain,  the  bringing  together  of 
the  results  of  all  this  study  would  be  a  monument  for  our  American 
aboriginal  women. 

As  pointed  out  in  former  chapters,  knowledge  concerning  basketry 
seems  to  be  illimitable,  the  technician,  the  artist,  and  the  student  of 
folklore  finding  equal  pleasure  in  the  acquisition.  To  begin  with  the 
manufacture,  a  correct  knowledge  of  the  materials  includes  the  name 
of  the  tribe  and  their  location,  the  name  of  the  different  kinds  of 
weaving  in  the  native  tongue,  and  chiefly,  the  native  name,  the  com 
mon  name,  and  the  scientific  name  of  every  plant  or  animal  substance 
or  mineral  involved.  The  reason  for  this  is  that  in  order  to  know 
whether  an  art  is  indigenous  or  acquired,  it  is  necessary  to  compare 
the  names  for  definite  things  with  those  used  by  other  tribes  for  the 
same  things.  Not  to  discourage  the  collector,  however,  it  must  be  said 
that  this  is  an  ideal  toward  which  he  ought  to  work. 

The  following  label  of  a  specimen  in  the  Hudson  basketry  collection, 
U.  S.  National  Museum,  will  serve  as  a  model  to  guide  the  collector  in 
saving  information  about  his  specimens: 


BASKET  JAR  of  the  Porno  Indians  (Kulanapan  family).  Made  from  the  prepared  root  of 
Kahum,  or  California  sedge  (Carcx  barbarae),  throat  and  scalp  feathers  of  Katatch,  or  wood 
pecker  ( Melanerpes  formicivorus) ,  breast  feathers  of  Jucil,  or  meadow  lark  (Sturnella  neglecta), 
scalp  feathers  of  Kayan,  or  mallard  (Anas  borchas),  plumes  of  Tchikaka,  or  crested  quail 
(Lophortyx  calif ornicus) ,  neck  feathers  of  Tsawalu,  or  jay  (Cyanura  stelleri),  and  Kaya,  or  pre 
pared  clam  shell  (Saxidomus  gracilis) ,  in  a  style  of  coiled  sewing  called  Tsai,  in  which  a  single 
rod  constitutes  the  basis.  The  sewing  passes  over  this  rod,  under  the  preceding  one,  and  locks 
in  the  stitch  immediately  underneath.  Ornamentation,  a  row  of  shell  disks  around  the  margin 
and  another  row  serving  as  a  handle. 

Diameter,  5  inches. 
RUSSIAN  RIVER,  CALIFORNIA,  1896.  No.  203,416. 

FROM  THE  BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY,  COLLECTED  BY 
DR.J.  W.  HUDSON. 


540  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

For  the  artistic  collector  there  is  a  very  important  mission,  to  know 
and  to  foster  the  aboriginal  patterns  and  motives  in  decoration.  Many 
of  the  shapes  and  designs  in  basketry  are  spurious.  Besides  the  trashy 
imitations  of  letters  and  comnion  things  on  basketry,  which  mislead 
no  one,  there  is  an  important  habit  springing  up  of  getting  women  of 
one  tribe  to  imitate  the  designs  of  another  tribe.  This  works  con 
fusion  in  two  ways.  It  confounds  the  student  of  folklore  absolutely, 
and  if  there  be  any  truth  in  the  belief  that  in  all  art  the.  material  and 
the  motif  have  in  the  ages  adapted  themselves  to  each  other  '•  like  per 
fect  music  unto  perfect  words,'1  the  attain pt  to  put  Apache  ornaments 
on  Pinia,  or  Wasco  on  Klikitat  is  discordant. 

PRESERVATION  OF  BASKETS 

The  art  of  a  people  must  be  judged  by  what  they  need  not  do  and  yet  accomplish.— A.  C.  HABDOX. 

Textiles  are  among  the  most  fragile  and  perishable  of  human  indus 
trial  products.  Insects  and  rust,  heat  and  cold,  too  much  and  too  little 
moisture,  the  common  accidents  of  life,  are  hastening  our  pretty 
baskets  to  their  dissolution.  Therefore,  how  to  prolong  the  life  of 
a  basket  is  a  living  question  with  all  basket  lovers,  and  the  answer 
will  be  easier  if  the  causes  of  destruction  are  known.  The  three 
enemies  of  baskets  are  moth  and  rust  and  human  fingers.  By  the 
moth  are  meant  all  destructive  animals;  by  rust,  natural  decay;  and  in 
the  last  agency  must  be  classed  the  m}Triad  ways  by  which  our  fellow- 
creatures  purloin  and  destroy  our  treasures.  E.  S.  Morse  tells  us  that 
the  Japanese  do  not  make  of  their  houses  bazaars  for  the  ostentatious 
display  of  art  objects,  but  they  put  them  away  in  silk  bags  to  bring 
forth  when  they  wish  to  delight  their  friends.  Those  collections  that 
have  been  made  with  a  view  to  permanence  should  be  kept  so  that  they 
will  suffer  least  from  damage.  The  dust  may  be  blown  from  the  speci 
mens  with  bellows.  Those  containing  remnants  of  vegetable  matter, 
berries,  food,  etc.,  should  be  carefully  scrubbed  with  soap  and  water, 
and  rubbed  down  with  a  very  small  portion  of  oil  and  dryer.  Above 
all  they  should  be  poisoned  with  a  weak  solution  of  corrosive  sublimate 
or  arsenic  dissolved  in  alcohol.  A  card  catalogue  giving  the  legend  and 
history  of  each  piece  would  add  much  to  the  value  of  the  collection. 

A  list  of  collections  of  rarities  in  American  basketry  is  here 
appended,  by  no  means  complete,  but  it  will  aid  the  student  who 
wishes  to  prosecute  his  investigations  further  to  find  the  material. 
First  of  all,  in  the  great  museums  there  are  permanently  in  store 
priceless  examples  of  basketry,  and  in  addition  many  costly  collec 
tions  belonging  to  private  individuals,  have  thus  rendered  a  great 
service  to  this  writer.  It  is  interesting  to  read  over  the  names  of  the 
men  and  women  who  long  ago  contributed  to  the  great  museums 
precious  examples  of  uncontaminated  Indian  art. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  541 

AMERICAN  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  The  best  assemblages  of 
American  basketry  are  the  Emmons  collection  from  Alaska;  the  Teit  from  the 
Chilcotin  and  the  Thompson  Indians  (Jesup  expedition);  the  Farrand  from  the 
Quinaielt  (Jesup  expedition);  the  Farrand  from  the  Klikitat  and  Oregon  (gift  of 
Mr.  Henry  Villard);  the  Dixon  from  northern  California  (Huntingdon  expedi 
tion);  the  Briggs  collection  from  California  (gift  of  Mr.  George  Foster  Peabody); 
the  Apache  collection  (gift  of  Mr.  Andrew  E.  Douglass);  the  Pepper,  of  cere 
monial  baskets  of  the  ancient  cliff  dwellers  (Hyde  expedition);  baskets  from 
the  Chukchi  Peninsula  collected  by  Messrs.  Jochelson  and  Bogoras  (Jesup 
expedition).  If  we  should  include  birch-bark  baskets,  one  might  also  mention 
the  Stone  collection  from  Mackenzie  Basin;  and  the  Berthold  Laufer  collection 
from  the  Amur  River  (Jesup  expedition).  The  basketry  collection  has  been 
brought  together  for  decoration,  not  for  technic. 

ANKENY,  Mrs.  LEVI,  Walla  Walla,  Washington.     Salish  basketry. 

BARRETT,  S.  A.,  Ukiah,  California.     All  Porno.     About  150  pieces. 

BENIIAM,  J.  W.,  Phoenix,  Arizona.  Large  and  rich  collection  of  Apache  ollas,  rare 
Pimas,  and  other  basketry  from  the  Southwest. 

BENJAMIN,  Mrs.  CAROLYN  G.,  Washington  City.  General  collection.  Good  in  CUeti- 
machas. 

BINGHAM,  Mrs.  J.  E. ,  338  Katharine  street,  Walla  Walla,  Washington. 

BISHOP,  Mrs.  THOMAS  T.,  2309  Washington  street,  San  Francisco,  California.  Miscel 
laneous. 

BOGGS,  Mrs.  A.  G.,  Redding,  California.  Principally  Hat  Creeks,  of  Shasta  County, 
and  Pit  Rivers,  of  Modoc  County.  Some  200. 

BRADFORD,  Mrs.  SIDNEY,  Avery  Island,  Louisiana.     Fine  old  Chetimachas. 

BRIGGS,  C.  F.,  San  Francisco,  California.  Miscellaneous.  Very  choice  examples. 
Northwest  coast,  Pomos,  Mariposan,  and  few  fine  Mission. 

BRITTIN,  L.  H.,  Edgewater,  New  Jersey.     Old  Tlinkit  baskets. 

BRIZARD,  BROUSSE,  Arcata,  California.  Large  Hupa  material  with  illustrated  cata 
logue. 

BUCHAN,  CHARLES  MILTON,  Tulalip  Agency,  Tulalip,  Washington. 

BUGBEE,  Mrs.  SUMNER  W.,  Pasadena,  California.     Miscellaneous. 

BURDICK,  T.  W.,  Albany,  New  York.     Rare  Tulares. 

BURGESS,  JOHN  D.,  Tucson,  Arizona.     Pima,  Maricopa,  and  Apache  examples. 

CARPENTER,  Mrs.  HELEN  M.,  Ukiah,  California.     Pomos. 

CARROLL,  ANDREW  W.  DE  LA  COSUR,  Ardglass,  Ireland.      Good  California  types. 

CHICAGO  UNIVERSITY.     Especially  Mexican.     See  Frederick  Starr. 

CINCINNATI  MUSEUM  OF  FINE  ART.     General  collection. 

COHN,  A.,  charming  specimens  of  Washoe  baskets,  Nevada. 

COLE,  Mrs.,  Pasadena,  California.     General  collection. 

COOK,  Mrs.  J.  B.,  Yosemite  Valley,  California.  About  75  examples  of  Mono,  Washoe, 
and  Mariposan  tribes. 

COVERT,  FRANK  M.,  New  York.     Good  in  Arizona  basketry. 

COVILLE,  FREDERICK  V.  Fine  collection  from  the  west  coast  to  illustrate  the  plants 
used. 

CROSS,  Mrs.  EDWARD,  Salem,  Oregon. 

CURTIS,  WILLIAM  CONWAY,  Norwalk,  Connecticut.  The  Klikitat  and  other  basketry 
of  Washington. 

DAGGETT,  JOHN,  Black  Bear,  Siskiyou  County,  California.  Fine  collection  of  Yurok 
and  Karok  material.  Klamath  and  Salmon  rivers,  northern  California.  At 
present  on  deposit  in  the  Memorial  Museum,  Golden  Gate  Park,  San  Francisco, 
California. 

DAVENPORT  ACADEMY  MUSEUM,  Iowa.     Miscellaneous  collection. 

DEISHER,  H.  K.,  50  Noble  street,  Kutztown,  Pennsylvania.  Pomos  and  Wintung, 
and  a  few  good  Maidus. 


542  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

DESSEZ,  Miss  HENRIETTA  LOUISE,  Washington  City.     California  and  Interior  Basin. 

EATON,  the  Misses,  Boston,  Massachusetts.     Very  old  California  baskets. 

EMMONS,  G.  T.,  Princeton,  New  Jersey.     Excellent  old  Tlinkits. 

FEENEY,  Miss  KATHARINE,  1570  Filbert  street,  Oakland,  California.  A  line  mis 
cellaneous  collection. 

FIELD  COLUMBIAN  MUSEUM  OP  CHICAGO  has  rich  collections  of  basketry  from  all  the 
north  Pacific  coast  families,  and  especially  old  and  beautiful  specimens  of  Tlinkit 
twined  ware,  the  gift  of  Mr.  E.  E.  Ayer;  from  the  Columbian  Basin  50  Ne/  Perec's 
twined  wallets,  many  of  them  large  and  choice,  and  some  of  considerable  age; 
60  coiled  and  imbricated  baskets  of  the  Klikitats  of  various  sizes.  The  last- 
mentioned  two  collections  were  made  by  Mr.  E.  E.  Miller.  From  various  parts 
of  California,  the  Field  Columbian  possesses  many  choice  baskets,  and  is  espe 
cially  rich  in  examples  from  tribes  of  the  Kulanapan,  Mariposan,  and  Moqu- 
lumnan  families.  These  were  gathered  chiefly  by  Dr.  J.  W.  Hudson,  but  many 
choice  examples  were  the  gift  of  Mr.  E.  E.  Ayer.  The  same  generous  benefactor 
added  to  his  gift  large  collections  from  the  White  Mountain,  and  Mescalero 
Apaches,  and  from  the  Pimas,  made  by  George  A.  Dorsey,  Charles  L.  Owen, 
«and  S.  C.  Sims  added  typical  series  from  special  tribes.  Dr.  Dorsey's  Ute 
collection  should  be  mentioned,  and  particularly  that  from  the  Klamath  tribe, 
numbering  over  200  specimens  and  comprising  all  their  forms,  technical  proc 
esses,  and  designs. 

FROHMAN,  Mrs.  J.,  Portland,  Oregon.     West  Coast  basketry  and  matting. 

GARDNER,  Mrs.  GEORGES.,  Laurel,  Mississippi.  Tribes  of  Indian  Territory,  Georgia, 
and  Louisiana.  Also  a  fair  series  of  Pacific  coast  work — Alaska,  British  Columbia, 
Washington,  California,  and  Arizona. 

GRAY,  Mrs.  WILLIAM,  Salem,  Oregon. 

GREBLE,  Mrs.  MARY  I).,  New  York  City.     Rare  old  southern  California  pieces. 

HALL,  ROBERT  C.,  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania.  Miscellaneous.  Good  Pomos  and  Tul- 
ares. 

HARVEY,  FRED,  Albuquerque,  New  Mexico.     Large  collection  from  the  Southwest. 

HEARST,  Mrs.  PHEBE  A.,  Berkeley,  California.  Miscellaneous.  Very  large  collection. 
Ricli  in  Pomoe  and  central  California  tribes.  The  collection  is  in  the  University 
of  California,  and  exhaustive  studies  are  being  made  under  her  generous  pat 
ronage. 

HUBBY,  Miss  ELLA  S.,  Pasadena,  California. 

HUDSON,  Mrs.  GRACE,  Ukiah,  California.  Fine  Pomos.  Dr.  J.  W.  Hudson's  two 
large  collections  from  these  tribes  are  in  Washington  and  Chicago. 

HYDE  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION,  New  York.  Collection  of  basketry  from  the  South 
west.  Encourages  the  making  of  baskets  and  aids  in  the  sale  of  them. 

IDE,  Mrs.  ESTHER  C.,  Seymour  street,  Syracuse,  New  York.  Miscellaneous.  Good 
Pomos  and  Tulares. 

JACKSON,  Col.  JAMES,  Salem,  Oregon. 

JAMES,  GEORGE  WHARTON,  Pasadena,  California.  Especially  good  in  examples  from 
California  Missions. 

JOHNSTON,  Mrs.  WILLIAM  P.,  New  Orleans,  Louisiana.  Chetimaches,  Choctaws,  and 
Attacapas. 

JONES,  PHILIP  MILLS,  State  University,  Berkeley,  California. 

KEPLER,  JOSEPH,  Inwood  on  the  Hudson.     General  collection. 

KIRKPATRICK,  Mrs.  I.  H.,  Adrian,  Michigan.     Fine  Navahos. 

LANDSBERG,  FREDERICK,  Victoria,  British  Columbia,     General  collection. 

LANG,  Miss  ANNE  M.,  The  Dalles,  Oregon.  Collection  of  imbricated  basketry.  Large 
and  rare. 

LOOSLY,  Mrs.  JOHN,  9  Pine  street,  San  Francisco,  California.     Miscellaneous. 

LOWE,  Mrs.  T.  S.  C.,  Pasadena,  California.  Fine,  large  collection.  Rich  in  Pomos 
and  central  California  tribes. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  543 

LYNCH,  Mrs.  JAY,  Fort  Simcoe,  Washington.     General  collection  of  west  coast  baskets. 

MABLEY,  Miss  KATE,  Detroit,  Michigan. 

Mo  ARTHUR,  Mrs.  H.  K.,  739  Glisaii  street,  Portland,  Oregon.  Collection  from  Wash 
ington  and  Oregon. 

MACGREGOR,  JOHN,  Hope  Station,  British  Columbia.     Thompson  River  basketry. 

McKEE,  Miss  BELLE,  Salem,  Oregon. 

McLEOD,  E.  L.,  Bakersfield,  California.  Large  collection  of  baskets  of  Kern  and  Inyo 
tribes.  A  few  Tulares. 

McNEiL,  Mrs.  W.  IT.,  1022  North  Nineteenth  street,  St.  Louis,  Missouri.  Miscella 
neous. 

MALLETT,  J.  H.,  Jr.,  San  Francisco,  California.  A  few  fine  Pomos  and  tribes  in  east- 
central  California. 

MASTERS,  Mrs.  W.  U.,  Pasadena,  California. 

MASTICK,  GEORGE  H.,  Alameda,  California.  Large  collection  of  Porno  baskets.  A  few 
good  examples  of  Mariposan  and  Yokuts. 

MERRIAM,  C.  HART,  Washington  City.  About  1,000  examples  of  Western  basketry, 
personally  selected  and  card  catalogued.  A  model  collection. 

MILLS,  Mrs.  ANSON  G.,  Washington  City.     Select  general  collection. 

MITCHELL,  JOHN  S.,  San  Francisco,  California.  Miscellaneous.  Good  examples  from 
Northwest  coast;  also  Arizona. 

MITCHELL,  SUSMAN,  Visalia,  California.  Excellent  work  of  different  tribes  in  Tulare 
and  Kern  counties,  California. 

MOLSON,  Mrs.  W.  MARKLAND,  Montreal,  Canada.     Washington  Basketry. 

MONTGOMERY,  Mrs.  J.  B.,  Portland,  Oregon. 

MOSELEY,  Mrs.  WILLIAM  H.,  New  Haven,  Connecticut.  Collection  011  exhibition  at 
the  Peabody  Museum  of  Yale. 

NATIONAL  MUSEUM. — The  Museum  is  rich  in  collections  of  American  basketry  made 
to  show  all  forms  of  technic  and  also  to  exhibit  handiwork  from  tribes  in  the  six 
areas.  Beginning  at  the  north,  the  collections  of  Ray  from  Point  Barrow;  of 
McFarlane  and  Ross  at  the  Mackenzie  mouth;  the  rich  treasures  gathered  by 
Nelson  in  western  Alaska;  those  of  Dall,  Turner,  Applegate,  and  Fisher  further 
south;  and  the  Tlinkit  ware  selected  by  McLean,  Swan,  and  Emmons  amply 
illustrate  the  technical  processes  in  that  area. 

Going  southward,  the  Salish  and  other  Fraser-Columbia  basketry  includes 
among  others  Wilkes,  Swan,  Eells,  Shackleford,  Emmons,  and  Willoughby  col 
lections. 

The  largest  collections  from  California  were  made  by  Purcell,  Ray,  Stone, 
Powers,  Hudson,  Henshaw,  Curtin  in  the  north;  by  Holmes,  Merriam,  Rust, 
and  Mead  in  the  south. 

The  collections  of  basketry  from  the  Interior  Basin  are  the  largest  of  all, 
being  gathered  by  Palmer,  Powell,  Gushing,  Stevenson,  Holmes,  Fewkes,  Hough, 
Mooney,  and  Russell,  and  officers  connected  with  the  numerous  surveys.  Much 
of  this  is  very  old.  From  further  south,  from  Middle  and  South  America,  the 
Museum  is  indebted  to  explorers  and  officers  of  various  departments  of  the  Gov 
ernment  for  typical  material,  the  latest  gathered  on  the  Amazon  by  J.  B.  Steere. 

NEWMAN,  Mrs.  H.  W.,  San  Carlos,  Arizona.     White  Mountain  Apache. 

NICHOLSON,  Miss  FLORENCE,  Pasadena.     Choice  old  Californian  specimens. 

O'HARA,  Mrs.,  San  Francisco,  California.     Good  pieces  of  Old  Missions. 

OWEN,  Mrs.  WILLIAM,  Sepacuite,  Panos,  Alta  Vera  Paz,  Guatemala.  Fine  collection 
of  Guatemala  work. 

PEABODY  MUSEUM  OF  ARCHEOLOGY  AND  ETHNOLOGY,  Harvard  University,  Cam 
bridge,  Massachusetts.  Collections  which  ought  not  to  be  neglected  by  the  spe 
cial  student.  Among  these  should  be  mentioned  that  of  Mrs.  George  B.  Linder, 
of  Boston,  rich  in  California  material;  that  of  Mrs.  Mary  Hemenway,  devoted 


544  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    1902. 

especially  to  the  pueblo  tribes  of  Arizona,  the  Hopi,  being  the  collection  made 

by  Thomas  Keam  many  years  ago.     Dr.   Edward  Palmer  contributed   to   this 

series  also  material  from  southern  California,  especially  from  the  caves.     This 

series  contains  the  outfit  of  a  society,  since  the  baskets  were  accompanied  also 

with  headdresses  and  musical  instruments. 

PICHER,  Miss  ANNIE  B.,  Pasadena,  California.     General  collection. 
PLATT,  Mrs.  ORVILLE  C.,  Meriden,  Connecticut.     General  collection. 
PLIMPTON,  F.  S.,  San  Diego,  California.     Miscellaneous.     Very  choice.     Fine  Pomos. 

Good  examples  of  work  of  different  tribes  throughout  northern,  central,  and 

southern  California. 

POWER,  Mrs.  E.  B.,  Navada  City,  California.     Choice  Maidus. 
PURDY,  CARL  AY.,  Ukiah,  California.     AArell-selected  collection  of  Pomos. 
ROBERTS,  Mrs.  ERNEST  AAT.,  Chelsea,  Massachusetts.     General  collection. 
ROSENBERG,  Mrs.  ANNA  M.,  1605  East  Madison  street,  Seattle,  AATashington.     Some 

fine  Pomos.     Few  good  examples  of  Tulare  and  Kern  tribes. 
ROST,  Mrs.  H.,  Portland,  Oregon. 

RUMSEY,  C.  E.,  110  Indiana  avenue,  Riverside,  California.     Miscellaneous. 
RUSSELL,  Mrs.  GEORGE  F.,  Portland,  Oregon. 
SEQUOYA  LEAGUE,  The.     A  corporation  whose  design  is  "to  make  better  Indians." 

One  of  its  objects  is  to  revive,  encourage,  and  provide  market  for  such  aboriginal 

industries  as  can  be  made  profitable. 

SHACKELFORD,  Mrs.  R.  T.,  The  Dalles,  Oregon.     Excellent  Klikitats  and  AATascos. 
SHARPE,  Miss  ELIZABETH  M.,  AATilkesbarre,  Pennsylvania.     General  collection. 
SMITH,  Mrs.  EMILY  A.,  2226  Jackson  street,  San  Francisco,  California.     Miscellaneous. 

A  number  of  exceptionally  fine  Pomos,  including  several  solidly  feathered.     Also 

some  choice   examples  from  Tulare,  Kern,  arid  Inyo   counties,  the  Missions. 

Alaska  and  British  Columbia,  etc. 
SPIEGELBERG,   A.  F.,  Santa  Fe,   New  Mexico.     Large  collection  of  basketry  from 

southwestern  United  States. 

STANFORD,  Mrs.  JANE  L.  (Mrs.  Leland).     In  her  museum  at  Palo  Alto  is  a  good  col 
lection  of  Tulare  baskets.     Also  fair  representation  of  the  Klamath  River  mate 
rial.     The  latter  collected  by  John  Daggett. 
STARR,  FREDERICK,  University  of  Chicago,  Chicago,  Illinois.     Collection  of  basketry 

from  southern  Mexico. 

STEVENS,  Mrs.  FREDERICK  H.,  Buffalo,  New  York. 
STONE,  Mrs.  B.  AY.,  San  Francisco,  California.     Miscellaneous  collection.     Very  good 

specimens  from  various  tribes  of  central  California. 
TAPLEY,  Mrs.  Louis,  Salem,  Oregon. 
TEIT,  JAMES,  Spences  Bridge,  British  Columbia.     Good  in  Thompson  River.     Largely 

in  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  New  York. 
TEVIS,  Mrs.  AVILLIAM,  Bakersfield,  California.     Large  collection  of  baskets  of  Kern, 

Inyo,  and  Tulare  tribes.     A  number  of  very  fine  and  rare  pieces.     Many  old 

examples. 
TO/IER,  D.  F.     A  very  large  and  choice  collection  from  southeastern  Alaska,  British 

Columbia,  and  AYashington.     On  exhibition  in  Tacoma,  AA7ashington. 
TUTTLE,  E.  0.,  28  State  street,  Boston,  Massachusetts.     Miscellaneous.     Some  good 

Pomos  and  Tulares. 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  is  conducting  an  exhaustive  survey  of  the  State,  both  in 

archeology  and  ethnology,  under  patronage  of  Mrs.  Phebe  A.  Hearst. 
UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA  has  a  large  series  of  basketry,  sandals,  and  other  textile 

material  from  the  cliff  dwellers  of  Mancos  Canyon,  given  by  Mrs.  Phebe  A. 

Hearst. 

VROMAN,  A.  C.,  Pasadena,  California.     Fine  old  Pinia  and  Apache  baskets. 
WADLEIGH,  AAr.  J.,  Hope  Station,  British  Columbia.     Klikitats. 
WANAMAKER,  JOHN,  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania.     Miscellaneous. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  545 

WHITMOKE,  Mrs.  W.  L.,  Salem,  Oregon. 

WILCOMB,  C.  P.,  Memorial  Museum,  Golden  Gate  Park,  San  Francisco,  California. 

Large  and  choice  collection  of  California  basketry,  well  identified  and  labeled. 
WILLIAMS,  H.  E.,  Cassel.  California.     Fine  collection  of  Hat  Creek  baskets. 

IX.  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

And  let  her  works  praise  her  in  the  gates. — KING  LEMUEL. 

The  following-  list  of  publications  will  help  to  follow  up  this  study 
in  special  lines.  A  great  awakening  of  interest  in  the  processes  of 
savage  industries  as  the  foundation  of  all  modern  machine  work  has 
stimulated  the  production  of  excellent  books  and  papers  on  basketry. 
At  the  moment  of  going  to  press  the  author  of  this  general  treatise 
learns  of  several.  Dr.  P.  E.  Goddard,  of  the  University  of  California, 
was  so  good  as  to  lend  his  proof  on  the  Hupas;  Frank  Russell  on  the 
Pimas  had  not  appeared;  Emmons  on  the  Tlinkit,  and  Dixon  and 
Kroeber's  further  studies  on  California  basketry  were  not  in  print. 

ANDERSON,  ADA  WOODRUFF.  Last  Industry  of  a  Passing  Race.  Harper's  Bazaar, 
November  11,  1899. 

B.,  T.  F.  Lessons  in  Basket  Weaving.  The  Papoose.  New  York,  February  and 
May,  1903. 

BANCROFT,  H.  H.  Native  Races  of  the  Pacific  States.  New  York,  D.  Appleton  &  Co., 
5  vols.,  8  vo.  Index  references  to  basketry,  weaving,  and  kindred  topics. 

BARROWS,  DAVID  PRESCOTT.  The  Ethno-botany  of  the  Coahuilla  Indians  of  southern 
California.  Chicago,  1900.  The  University  Press,  82  pp.  8  vo. 

BASKET,  The.  A  quarterly  journal.  Vol.  1,  1903.  Pasadena,  California.  Edited 
by  George  Wharton  James.  Organ  of  The  Basket  Fraternity. 

BLANCHAN,  NELT.IE.  What  the  Basket  means  to  the  Indian.  Everybody's  Magazine, 
Y,  1901,  pp.  561-570,  illustrated. 

BOAS,  FRANZ.  The  Decorative  Art  of  the  Indians  of  the  North  Pacific  Coast.  Bulletin 
American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  New  York,  IX,  1897,  54  pp.  See  also  the 
author's  papers  in  Reports  of  British  Association,  1889-1891. 

BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY.  Reports,  bulletins,  and  miscellaneous  publica 
tions  abound  in  papers  discussing  basketry  and  related  matters,  1879-1903. 

CARPENTER,  H.  M.    How  Indian  Baskets  are  made.    The  Cosmopolitan,  October,  1900. 

CARR,  JEANNIE  C.  Among  the  Basket  Makers,  California.  Illustrated  Magazine, 
October,  1892. 

CHANNING,  GRACE  ELLERY.  The  Baskets  of  Anita.  Scribner's  Magazine,  August, 
1890. 

CHESNUT,  V.  K.  Plants  used  by  the  Indians  of  Mendociiio  County,  California.  Wash 
ington,  1902.  Contributions  to  the  National  Herbarium,  VII,  pp.  295-408. 

CHITTENDEN,  NEWTON  H.  Among  the  Cocopahs.  Land  of  Sunshine,  Los  Angeles, 
California,  1901,  pp.  196-210,  illustrated. 

COLES,  CLAUDIA  STUART.  Aboriginal  Basketry  in  the  United  States.  The  House 
Beautiful,  February,  1900. 

COVILLE,  FREDERICK  V.  The  Panamint  Indians  of  California.  American  Anthro 
pologist,  V,  1892,  pp.  351-361.  Washington. 

— .     Directions  for  collecting  Specimens  and  Information  illustrating  the  aborigi 
nal  Uses  of  Plants,  Bulletin  No.  39,  Part  J,  U.  S.  National  Museum. 

Wokas — Primitive  Food  of  the  Klamath  Indians,     Report  of  the  U.  S. 


National  Museum  for  1902  (in  preparation). 
NAT  MUS   1902 35 


546  REPOKT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

GUSHING,   FRANK  HAMILTON.     Pottery  affected  by  Environment.     Fourth  Annual 
Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology.     1882,  pp.  482-521,  64  figs. 

DELLENBAIJGH,  F.  S.     The  North  Americans  of  Yesterday.     New  York,  1901. 

DIXON,  ROLAND  B.     Basketry  designs  of  the  Maidu  Indians  of  California.     American 
Anthropologist,  June,  1900. 

— .  Basketry  designs  of  the  Indians  of  northern  California.  (The  Huntingdon 
California  Expedition. )  Bulletin,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  New 
York,  XVII,  pp.  1-32,  37  plates. 

and  ALFRED  L.  KROEBER.     The  native  Languages  of  California.     American 


Anthropologist,  Washington,  N.  S.,  V,  1903,  pp.  1-26,  8  figs. 
DODGE,  CHARLES  RICHARDS.     A   Report  on  the  leaf   Fibers   of  the  United  States. 

Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington,   1893.     Fiber   Investigations— Report 

No.  5. 

DOUBLEDAY,  F.  N.     Indian  industrial  Development.     The  Outlook,  January  12, 1901. 
DUBOIS,  CONSTANCE  GODDARD.     Manzanita  Basketry,  a  Revival.     The  Papoose,  June, 

1903,  pp.  21-27. 

EMMONS,  G.  T.     The  Basketry  of  the  Tlingit.     Memoirs,  American  Museum  of  Natu 
ral  History,  New  York,  1903,  III,  Pt.  2,  18  pis.  and  text  figures. 
FARRAND,  LIVINGSTON.    Basketry  Designs  of  the  Salish  Indians.    Memoirs,  American 

Museum  of  Natural  History,  New  York,  1900,  II,  Pt.  5,  6  pp.,  3  pis.,  15  figs. 
FEWKES,  J.   WALTER.      A  contribution  to   Ethno-botany  (of  Tusayan).     American 

Anthropologist,  Washington,  1896,  IX,  pp.  14-22. 

— .     Hopi  basket  dances.     Journal  of  American  Folklore,  April-June,  1899. 

— .     The   Snake   Ceremonial  at  Walpi.     Journal  of    American  Ethnology  and 

Archaeology,  IV. 

FIRTH,  ANNIE.     Cane  Basket  Work,  1  and  2  series.     London. 
GODDARD,  P.  E.     Life  and  Culture  of  the  Hupas.     Publications  of  the  University 

of  California.     First  volume  of  the  series  on  North  American  Archaeology  and 

Ethnology,  Berkeley,  California. 

HARSHBERGER,  J.  W.     Purposes  of  Ethno-botany.     Botanical  Gazette,  XXI,  No.  3. 
HAVARD,  VICTOR.     The  Food  Plants  of  the  North  American  Indians.     Bulletin,  Tor- 

rey  Botanical  Club,  XXII,  No.  2,  February;  No.  3,  March,  1895. 

— .     Drink  Plants  of  the  North  American  Indians.     Bulletin,  Torrey  Botanical 

Club,  XXIII,  No.  2,  February,  1896. 
HOFFMAN,  WALTER  JAMES.     The  Menomini  Indians.     Fourteenth  Annual  Report  of 

the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  Washington,  1896,  pp.  3-328,  pis.  i-xxm,  54  figs. 
HOLMES,  WILLIAM  HENRY.     Prehistoric  textile  Fabrics  of  the  United  States  derived 

from  impressions  on  Pottery.     Third  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology, 

Pt.  1,  1884,  pp.  397-425,  1  pi.,  55  figs;  also  Volume  XIII,  43  pp.,  9  pis.,  28  figs. 

— .     A  Study  of  the  textile  Art  in  its  relation  to  the  development  of  Form  and 

Ornament.     Sixth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  Washington,  1888, 

pp.  189-252,  figs.  286  to  358. 

— .     Anthropological   Studies   in   California.     Report   of    the   U.    S.    National 

Museum,  1900,  pp.  155-187. 
HOUGH,  MYRTLE  ZUCK  (Mrs.  Walter).     Plant  names  of  the  southwestern  United 

States.     The  Plant  World,  Washington,  1900,  III,  p.  137. 
HOUGH,  WALTER.     Primitive  American  Armor.    Report  of  the  U.  S.  National  Museum, 

1893,  pp.  625-651. 

.     The  Hopi  in  relation  to  their  plant  Environment.     American  Anthropolo 
gist,  X,  February,  1897. 

.     Environmental  interrelations  in  Arizona.    American  Anthropologist,  Wash 
ington,  XI,  1898,  p.  133-155. 
HUDSON,  J.  W.     Porno  Basket  Makers.     Overland  Monthly,  San  Francisco,  June, 

1893. 
HUMBOLDT,  ALEXANDER  VON,     Essay  on  New  Spain.     II,  p.  297,  note  on  California 

basketry. 


ABORIGINAL    AMERICAN    BASKETRY.  547 

IM  THURN,  E.  F.     Among  the  Indians  of  British  Guiana.     P.  278.    London,  1895. 
JAMES,   GEORGE  WHARTON,    Symbolism   in   Indian   Basketry.      The  Traveler,   San 

Francisco,  August,  1899. 

— .     Poems  in  Indian  Baskets.     The  Evening  Lamp,  Chicago,  September  8, 1900. 

— .     Indian  Basketry.     Pasadena,   1901,   privately   printed.     238  pp.,  300   ils. 

8  vo.     Third  edition,  1903. 

— .     The  Art  of  Indian  Basketry.     The  Southern  Workman,  August,  1901, 10  pp. , 

8  figs. 
.     Basket  Makers  of  California  at  Work.     Sunset,  San  Francisco,  California, 


November,  1901,  12  pp.,  13  figs. 

KNAPP,  ELIZABETH  SANBORN,  Raphia  and  Reed  Weaving.    Springfield,  Massachusetts, 
1903. 

K  ROBBER,  ALFRED  L.,  The  Arapaho.     Bulletin,  American  Museum  Natural  History, 
New  York,  1902,  XVIII,  pp.  1-150. 

LUMHOLZ,  CARL.     Symbolism  of  the  Huichol  Indians,  Memoirs,  American   Museum 
Natural  History,  New  York,  III.     Pt.  1. 

McGEB,  W  J.     The  Beginnings   of  Agriculture.     American  Anthropologist. 

— .     The  Seri  Indians.     Seventeenth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnol 
ogy,  1892,  336  pp.,  56  pis.,  42  figs. 

MACNAUGHTON,  CLARA.     Nevada  Indian  Baskets  and  their  Makers.     Out  West,  Los 
Angeles,  April  and  May,  1903. 

MASON,  OTIS  T.     Basketwork  of  the   North   American   Aborigines.     Report  U.  S. 
National  Museum,  1884,  pp.  291-300,  pis.  i-xiv. 

— .     The  Ray  collection   from   the   Hupa  Reservation.     Smithsonian   Report, 
1886,  pp.  205-239,  26  plates. 

.     Primitive  Travel  and  Transportation.     Report  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1894. 

— .     Woman's  Share  in  Primitive  Culture.     New  York,  1894. 
— .     Types    of  American  basketry.     Scientific  American,  New  York,  July  28, 
1900. 

— .     The  Technique  of  Aboriginal  American  Basketry.     American  Anthropol 
ogist,  N.  S.,  Ill,  1901,  pp.  109-128,  Washington,  January-March,  1901. 

.     Directions  for  Collectors  of  American  Basketry.     Part  P,  Bulletin  39  U.  S. 


National  Museum,  Washington,  1902,  pp.  (1-31)  44  figures. 
MATTHEWS,  WASHINGTON.     Navaho  Weavers.     Third  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau 

of  Ethnology,  1881,  pp.  371-391,  3  pis.,  15  figs. 

— .    A  Study  in  Butts  and  Tips.    American  Anthropologist,  Washington,  October, 

1892. 

— .     The  Basket  Drum.     American  Anthropologist,  Washington,  1894,  VII. 

— .     The  Night  Chant:  A  Navaho  Ceremony.    Memoirs  of  the  American  Museum 

Natural  History,  New  York,  1902,  VI. 
MERRIAM,  C.  HART.     Some  little  known  Basket  Materials.     Science,  XVII,  1903,  p. 

826. 
MINDELEFF,  COSMOS.      Aboriginal  remains  in  Verde  Valley.     Thirteenth   Annual 

Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  1896,  pp.  176-261,  40  pis.,  26  figs. 
MOLSON,  Mrs.  W.  MARKLAND.     Basketry  of  the  Pacific  Coast.     Portland,  Oregon, 

1896. 
MURDOCH,  JOHN.      Ethnological  Results  of  the  Point  Barrow  expedition.      Ninth 

Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  Washington,  1892. 
NORDENSKJOLD,  G.     The  Cliff-Dwellers  of  the  Mesa  Verde.     Stockholm,  1894. 
OUT  WEST,  Los  Angeles,  California.     Monthly  journal,  edited  by  Charles  F.  Lummis. 
PALMER,  EDWAKD.     Plants  used  by  the  Indians  of  the  United  States.     American 

Naturalist,  XII,  p.  653. 
PAPOOSE,  THE.     Monthly  Journal  published  by  the  Benham  Exploring  Expedition. 

New  York,  1903. 


548  EEPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1902. 

PEPPER,  GEORGE  H.  The  ancient  Basket  Makers  of  southeastern  Utah.  Journal 
American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  II,  Guide  leaflet  No.  6,  New  York,  1902. 

PERCIVAL,  OLIVE  M.  The  lost  Art  of  Indian  Basketry.  Demorest's  Family  Maga 
zine,  February,  1897. 

POWERS,  STEPHEN.  Aboriginal  Botany.  Proceedings,  California  Academy  of  Sci 
ences.  V. 

— .     The  Indians  of  California.     Contributions  to  North  American  Ethnology, 
Washington,  III,  1877. 

PURDY,  CARL.  The  Porno  Indian  Baskets  and  their  Makers.  Land  of  Sunshine  and 
Out  West,  Los  Angeles,  California.  A  series  of  illustrated  papers  of  great  value 
running  through  volumes  XV  and  XVI,  1901,  1902,  in  that  journal,  with  many 
illustrations,  and  also  in  pamphlet  form. 

REID,  HUGO.     The  California  Farmer,  1861.     Old  files  for  early  references. 

SCHUMACHER,  PAUL.  In  Archaeology  of  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey  west  of  the  one 
hundredth  Meridian,  VII,  pp.  239-250. 

SCIDMORE,  ELIZA  EUHAMAH.    Indian  Baskets.    Harpers'  Bazaar,  September  1,  1894. 

SELLERS,  GEORGE  E.  Markings  on  Pottery,  of  Salt  Springs,  Illinois.  Popular  Science 
Monthly,  New  York,  XI,  p.  573. 

STARR,  FREDERICK.  Notes  on  the  Ethnography  of  Southern  Mexico.  Proceedings 
Davenport  Academy  of  Sciences,  IX,  1902. 

STEARNS,  MARY  WATROUS.     A  School  without  Books.     Battle  Creek,  Michigan,  1902. 

STEPHEN,  A.  M.     The  Navajo.     American  Anthropologist,  October,  1893. 

STEVENSON,  JAMES.  Illustrated  Catalogues  of  Collections.  Second  and  third  Annual 
Reports  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  Washington,  1879-1881. 

TEIT,  JAMES.  The  Thompson  Indians  of  British  Columbia.  Memoirs  of  the  Ameri 
can  Museum  of  Natural  History,  II,  Pt.  4,  New  York,  1900,  391  pp.,  7  pis.,  197 
figs. 

WEST,  ARTHUR  B.     University  Club,  Denver,  Colo.     Basketry  photographs. 

WHITE,  MARY.  How  to  Make  Baskets.  New  York,  1902,  194  pp.,  ill.;  also  More 
Baskets  and  How  to  Make  Them.  New  York,  1903. 

WILKIE,  HARRIET  CUSHMAN.  American  Basketry.  The  Modern  Priscilla,  Boston, 
June,  1902. 

WILLOUGHBY,  C.  C.  Hats  from  the  Nutka  Sound  Region.  American  Naturalist, 
Boston,  1903,  pp.  65-68,  1  pi. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museunr,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  1. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1&02. — Mason. 


PLATE  2. 


CD 

Z  5 

i  5 

0  g 

1  S 

CO  - 


co  o 

<  K 

OQ  ' 

1  I 

Q. 


Report  of   U.    S.    National    Museum,    1902.  — Mason. 


PLATE  3. 


EXPLANATION    OF    PLATE    4. 
HAZELXUT  (Corylus  calif ornica). 

The  main  figure  is  a  fruiting  branch.  Above  at  the  left  are  two  staminate  catkins, 
with  a  pistillate  flowering  bud  at  their  base,  accompanied  by  a  sectional  view  of  a 
catkin  scale  and  stamens,  enlarged  six  times.  To  the  right  above  are  a  terminal  bud 
and  a  nut.  Underneath  the  main  figure  are  views  of  catkin  scales  and  stamens,  from 
front  and  back,  six  times  natural  size,  and  at  the  right  a  terminal  cluster  of  pistillate 
flowers,  enlarged  three  times.  Except  in  the  cases  noted,  the  figures  are  of  natural 
size. 

Drawing  by  Frederick  A.  Walpole. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  4. 


EXPLANATION    OF    PLATE    5. 
WOLF  Moss  (Evernia  vulpina). 

The  lichens  are  shown  as  growing  on  a  dead  branch,  their  usual  habitat. 
plant  at  the  right  is  in  fruit,  the  shallow  cups  (apothecia)  containing  the  broji 
spore-bearing  surfaces. 


'ORT  OF  U.S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM,  1902.  MASON. 


PLATE    5 


EXPLANATION    OF    PLATE    6. 
KLAMATH  GAMBLING  TRAY. 

A  sak-lotks'  p'a'-hla  or  flexible  gambling  tray  of  the  Klamath  Indians  of  Oregon 
Both  warp  (pa-chlsh')  and  weft  (twach)  are  of  cords  of  undyed  twisted  tule  (p.  211) 
which  are  fully  exposed  only  in  the  pale-brown  stripe  at  the  margin,  where  the  ends 
of  the  warp  are  interlaced  and  bound  with  a  strengthening  cord  of  gray  fiber  from  the 
nettle  (  Urtica  breweri),  slSdsh.  Every  other  stitch  of  the  tray  is  covered  by  an  over 
laying  material:  the  white  is  of  reed  (p.  208);  the  black  (mok'-was)  is  of  tule  dyed 
in  mud  springs  containing  iron;  the  canary  yellow  is  of  porcupine  quills  (srnai'-am) 
dyed  with  wolf  moss  (p.  205),  and  the  brown  of  the  ring  near  the  center  of  the  tray 
id  of  undyed  tule.  Nettle  cord  was  used  in  binding  the  strands  of  warp  together  at 
the  beginning. 

The  main  trefoil  pattern  is  of  unknown  significance.  The  triangles  upon  it 
bird-wing  patterns  (slas-al'-tls).  while  the  triangles  on  the  marginal  design  are  arrow 
head  patterns  (sa'-wal-sal'-tls).  The  browrn  and  black  ring  near  the  center  is  a 
op'-k'a,  a  name  applied  only  to  a  ring  of  transversely  alternating  colors.  A  ringii 
uniform  color  would  be  a  sme'l-6/-g'a. 


Report  of   U.    S.    National    Museum,    1902.  —  Mason. 


PLATE  6. 


KLAMATH  GAMBLING  TRAY. 

COLLECTION   OF  FREDERICK  V.  COVILLE. 
See  page  208. 


EXPLANATION    OF    PLATE    7. 
SITKA  SPRUCE  (Picea  sitchensis). 

Fig.  a,  twig  with  staminate  catkins.  Fig.  b,  pistillate  catkins.  Fig.  c,  cones 
approaching  maturity.  Fig.  d,  mature  cone.  Fig.  f,  inner  view  of  a  cone  scale 
showing  the  position  of  the  two  winged  seeds.  Fig.  /,  seeds.  With  the  excep 
tion  of  fig.  e,  which  is  enlarged  one  aud  one-third  times,  the  figures  are  reproduced 
eight-ninths  their  natural  size. 


REPORT  OF  U.S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM,  I902.-MASON. 


PLATE    7. 


SITKA    SPRUCE    (PICEA   SITCHENSIS). 

AFTER    FREDERICK    V.   COVILLE     SEE   PAGE     208. 


EXPLANATION    OF    PLATE    8. 
THREELEAF  SUMAC  (Rhus  trilobata). 

The  main  figure  is  a  branch  in  leaf  and  fruit.  Above  at  the  left  is  a  single  fruit 
enlarged  one  and  a  half  times,  and  at  the  right  a  section  of  the  same  twice  the  natural 
size.  At  the  left  below  is  a  flowering  twig,  and  to  the  right  are  four  views  of  flowers, 
enlarged  four  times,  the  two  at  the  left  showing  the  two  forms  of  flowers,  one  without 
stamens. 

Drawing  by  Frederick  A.  Walpole. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  8. 


THREELEAF  SUMAC  (Rnus  TRILOBATA). 

AFTER  FREDERICK  v.  COVILLE.     SEE  PAGE  210. 


EXPLANATION    OF    PLATE    9. 
TULE  (Scirpus  lacustru}. 

Fig.  a,  rootstock,  roots,  sheathing  base  of  the  stem,  summit  of  the  stem,  and 
inflorescence.  Figs.  6  and  c,  flowers,  from  within,  showing  the  scale  behind.  In  c 
the  stigmas  are  mature,  but  the  stamens  not  yet  fully  developed;  in  l>  the  stigmas 
have  withered,  the  ovary  enlarged,  and  the  stamens  matured.  Fig.  (7,  a  scale, 
viewed  from  the  back.  Fig.  e,  a  mature  nutlet  with  its  barbed  bristles.  Fig.  /,  a 
cross  section  of  the  nutlet.  Fig.  a  is  half  natural  size,  figs.  I  and  c  five  times 
enlarged,  and  figs,  d  to /ten  times  enlarged. 


REPORT  OF  U.S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM,  I902.-MASON. 


P  LATE      9  . 


TULE  (SCIRPUS    LACUSTRIS;. 

AFTER    FREDERICK    V.   COVILLE.   SEE   PAGE    211. 


EXPLANATION    OF    PLATE    10 
GIANT  CEDAR  (Thuja plicata). 

The  large  figure  is  a  branch  in  its  natural  pendent  position,  with  full-sized  but  not 
yet  opened  cones.  Below  at  the  left  is  the  apex  of  a  twig  with  staminate  flowers,  at 
the  right  a  pistillate  flowering  twig,  and  above  it  an  end  view  of  the  same,  five  times 
enlarged.  Above  at  the  right  is  a  mature  and  opened  cone,  one  and  a  fourth  times 
enlarged,  and  below  a  cone  scale,  from  within,  showing  the  seeds  natural  size,  and 
still  lower  a  single  seed  twice  enlarged. 

Drawing  by  Frederick  A.  Walpole. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 
\  \ 


PLATE  10. 


GIANT  CEDAR  (THUJA  PLICATA). 


AFTER  FREDERICK  v.  COVILLE.     SEE  PAGE  211. 


Report  of   U.    S.    National    Museum,    I  902.  — Mason. 


PLATE  1 1 


KLIKITAT  IMBRICATED  BASKET. 

COLLECTION   OF  MRS.   R.  S.  SHACKELFORD. 
See  page  220. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  12. 


POMO  BASKETMAKER. 

PHOTOGRAPHED  BY  H.  w.  HENSHAW.     SEE  PAGE  222. 


&«»:) 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  13. 


TLINKIT  BASKETMAKER. 


PHOTOGRAPHED  BY  G.  T.  EMMONS.      SEE  PAGE  222. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  14. 


CHECKERWORK  IN  CEDAR  BARK. 

SEE    PAGE   223. 


J 

.^^ 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  15. 


8  °  L.  I  V  /  A  CIGAR  CASE  IN  TWILLED  WEAVING. 


COLLECTION  OF  ROBERT  FLETCHER.     SEE  PAGE  224. 


V 


REPORT  OF  U.S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM,  I902.-MASON. 


PLATE    16. 


' 

v-  -•  ..• -r-7 


HOPI    TWILLED    BASKETRY. 

COLLECTED    BY    V.  MINDELEEF  AND  W.  HOUGH.  SEE    PAGE   225. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  17. 


MOHAVE  CARRYING  BASKET. 

COLLECTION  OF  FIELD  COLUMBIAN  MUSEUM.     SEE  PAGE 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  18. 


ATTU  WOMEN  WEAVING  BASKETS. 

PHOTOGRAPHED  BY  c.  GADSDEN  PORCHER.     SEE  PAGE 


A  R  Y 


V,, 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  19. 


POMO  TWINED  BASKETS. 

COLLECTION  OF  c.  P.  WILCOMB.     SEE  PAGE  233. 


XT5 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1  902.— Mason. 


PLATE  20. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  21 


UTE  TWINED  JARS. 


SEE    PAGE    236. 


/  15 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  22. 


POMO  TWINED  BASKETS. 

COLLECTION  OF  c.  p.  WILCOMB.     SEE  PAGE  238. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1  902.  — Mason. 


PLATE  23. 


FURCATED  STITCHES  ON  COILED  BASKETRY. 

COLLECTION  OF  E.  L.  MCLEOD.     SEE  PAGE  244. 


V 


Report  of  U.  S.  Nationa 


Museum,,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  24. 


Reoort  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  25. 


< 

CO      Hi 


1  § 

U         J 


5 

o  l 

o  fe 

O  j 

Q-  ,9 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  26. 


Report  of   U.    S.    National    Museum,    1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  27. 


HOPI  COILED  BASKETRY. 

COLLECTED   BY  JAMES  STEVENSON  AND  V.   MiNDELEFF. 
See  page  252. 


Report  of   U.    S.    National    Museum,    1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  28. 


ZUNI  OLD  COILED  BASKETS. 

COLLECTED   BY  JAMES  STEVENSON. 

See  page  253. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  29. 


POMO  THREE-ROD  COILED  BASKET. 


COLLECTION  OF  c.  P.  WILCOMB.     SEE  PAGE  254. 


REPORT  OF  U.S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM,  I902.-MASON. 


PLATE    30 


HOPI    COILED    PLAQUES. 

COLLECTED  BY  JAMES  MOONEY  SEE  PAGE  257. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  31 


ANCIENT  OPENWORK  COILED  BASKET. 

AMERICAN  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     SEE  PAGE  257. 


.£.   UTAH 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Masor 


&AVAS(/f>At     V,5 


ANCIENT  BASKET  BOTTLES. 

SOUTHERN  INTERIOR  BASIN.      SEE  PAGE  2 


PLATE  32. 


REPORT  OF  U.S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM,  1902.-MASON. 


PLATE    33. 


APACHE   ANCIENT    WATER   JAR. 
COLLECTED    BY  WALTER     HOUGH.   SEE    PAGE  259. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason 


PLATE  34. 


POMO  THREE-STRAND  BORDER. 

SEE  PAGE  265. 


Report  of   U.    S.    National    Museum,    1902.  —  Mason. 


PLATE  35. 


SALISH  IMBRICATED  BASKETS. 

COLLECTED    BY  j.   H.  WILBUR  AND  WlLKES   EXPLORING   EXPEDITION. 
See  page  274. 


Report   cf   U.    S.    National    Museum,    1902. —  Mason. 


MISSION  INDIAN  COILED  BOWL. 

COLLECTION   OF  G.  WHARTON   JAMES. 
See  page  276. 


REPORT  OF  U.S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM,   I902.-MASON. 


PLATE    37. 


TLINKIT  TWINED    BASKETS. 
COLLECTED    BY  J.  B.  W  H  ITE.  S  EE    PAGE    281. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  38. 


TULARE  GAMBLING  PLAQUES. 

COLLECTION  OF  E.  L.  MCLEOD.     SEE  PAGE  283. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  39. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  40. 


Report  of  U.S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  41. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  42. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  43. 


SALISH  AND  KLIKITAT  IMBRICATED  BASKETS. 

COLLECTION  OF  E.  L.  MCLEOD.     SEE  PAGE  285. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  44. 


TLINKIT  FALSE  EMBROIDERY. 

COLLECTION  OF  L.  H.  BRITTIN.     SEE  PAGE  285. 


- 
:' 


• 


Report  of   U.    S.    National    Museum,    1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  45 


h- 

co 

Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  46. 


s 


REPORT  OF  U.S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM,  I902.-MASON. 


PLATE     47. 


HOPI    WICKERWORK  PLAQUE. 

COLLECTED    B  Y  J.  W.  B  EN  H  A  M.  SEE    PAGE  289. 


Report  of   U.    S.    National    Museum,    1902.  — Mason. 


PLATE  48. 


KLAMATH  OLD  TWINED  BOWLS. 

COLLECTED   BY   GEORGE   GIBBS. 

See  page  290. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  49. 


ANCIENT  BASKET  JARS. 


COLLECTION  OF  THE  MISSES  EATON.     SEE  PAGE  294. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  50. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum.  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  51 


SKOKOMISH  TWINED  WALLET. 


COLLECTION  OF  FRED  HARVEY.  SEE  PAGE  297. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  52. 


APACHE  COILED  BASKET. 

COLLECTION  OF  F.  s.  PLIMPTON.     SEE  PAGE  297. 


u 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  53. 


KERN,  INYO,  AND  TULARE  BOWLS. 

COLLECTION  OF  c.  p.  WILCOMB.     SEE  PAGE  293. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1  902.— Mason. 


PLATE  54. 


TULARE  COILED  BOWLS. 

COLLECTION  OF  F.  s.  PLIMPTON.     SEE  PAGE  293. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  55. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  56. 


MAIDU  COILED  BASKETS. 

SEE    PAGE    300. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1  902.— Mason. 


PLATE  57. 


MAIDU  COILED  BASKETS. 


SEE  PAGE 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  58. 


I  " 

CO  >: 

Q  > 

3  I 

O  o 

O  £ 

^  I 

°-  o 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  59. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  60. 


o 

z 

<    H 


'/•  -  e  \ 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  61. 


I— 

LJ  I 

i ; 

Q  I 


|   s 

a:   I 

o 

I 


„  >  L 


Report  of   U.    S.    National    Museum,    1902.  — Masc 


PLATE  62. 


•K 


MISSION  INDIAN  COILED  BOWLS. 

COLLECTION  OF  G.  WHARTON  JAMES. 
See  page  300. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  63. 


PIMA  BASKET  BOWLS. 


COLLECTED  BY  FRANK  RUSSELL.  SEE  PAGE  304. 


Report  of  U.   S.    National   Museum,    1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  64 


CHETIMACHA  TWILLED  BASKET. 

COLLECTED   BY  C.   E.  WHITNEY. 
See  page  305. 


Report  of   U.    S.    National    Museum,    1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  65. 


x: 
co 
< 

no 

Q 

UJ 

z 

i 

z 

cc 

LLl 
G 

O 
2 


Report  of   U.    S.    National    Museum,    1902.  — Masc 


PLATE  66. 


OREGON  AND  CALIFORNIA  TWINED  BASKETRY. 
COLLECTED   BY  BENJAMIN  AND   LIVINGSTON   STONE 


Report  of  U.   S.    National    Museum,    1902.— Mas 


PLATE  67 


TLINKIT  TWINED  COVERED  JAR. 

COLLECTED   BY  J.  J.  MCLEAN. 

See  page  309. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  68. 


oo 


REPORT  QF  U.S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM,  I902.-MASON. 


PLATE     69. 


h    - 
UJ    ro 


CO    O 
CD    a 


uj 

£  05 

Ld  2 

I  O 


Q  o 
Ld  u- 
_J  O 

2° 
°  5 


O.   o 


REPORT  OF  U.S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM,  I902.-MASON. 


PLATE    70. 


1-  - 

UJ     00 
X.      UJ 

<! 

LLl 

Q    UJ 
UJ     W 

C  oi 
Ld  5 

I    O 

I-  u 

Ld    £ 


Q  o 
UJ  u- 
_)  o 

S° 
oa 

00^ 
1-  o 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  71. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  72. 


Report  of   U.    S.    National    Museum,    1902.— Masor 


PLATE  73. 


TLINKIT  COVERED  TWINED  BASKETS. 

COLLECTED   BY   F.   M.   RING.  AND   G.  T.   EMMONS. 

See  page  320. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  74. 


1VF 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  75. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  76. 


£$ 

00. 


fr*" 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1  902.— Mason. 


PLATE  77. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  78. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  79. 


fc    z 

I-     "J 


REPORT  OF  U.S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM,  !  902.- MAS  ON. 


PLATE    80. 


YUKI    SUN    BASKET. 

COLLECTED    BY    N.  J.  PU  R  C  ELL.  S  EE    PAGE    326. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. —  Mason. 


PLATE  81. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  82. 


CO 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  83. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  84. 


ANCIENT  CLIFF  DWELLERS'  BASKET. 

AMERICAN   MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      SEE  PAGE  333. 


REPORT  OF  U.S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM,  I902.-MASON. 


PLATE    85. 


HOPI    WICKER   PLAQUE. 

COLLECTED    B  Y  J.  W.  B  EN  H  A  M.  SEE    PAGE   333. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  86. 


HUPA  BURDEN  BEARER. 

PHOTOGRAPHED  BY  A.  w.  ERICSON.      SEE  PAGE  339. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. —  Mason. 


PLATE  87. 


SANDALS  OF  ANCIENT  CLIFF  DWELLERS. 

SEE    PAGE    342. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  88. 


HUPA  TWINED  SANDAL. 

COLLECTED  BY  p.  H.  RAY.     SEE  PAGE  343. 


Report  of   U.    S.    National    Museum,    1902.— Mas 


PLATE  89. 


TULARE  COILED  CUP  AND  JAR 

COLLECTION  OF  MRS.  E.  GREBLE. 

See  page  343. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— M? 


PLATE  90. 


HUPA  AND  POMO  FEATHERED  BASKETS. 

SEE  PAGE  34-4. 


REPORT  OF  U.S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM,   I902.-MASON. 


PLATE    91 


KLIKITAT    IMBRICATED  BASKETS. 

COLLECTED    BY   MRS.LEVI    ANKENY.    SEE    PAGE   346. 


Report  of  U,  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  92. 


HUPA  FOOD  BASKETS. 

COLLECTED  BY  p.  H.  RAY.     SEE  PAGE  346. 


*Kt\  J_ 


REPORT  OF  U.S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM,  I902.-MASON 


PLATE    93. 


HOPI    SACRED   COILED   TRAYS. 

COLLECTED    BY   MRS.   M.  C.  STEVENSON.  SEE    PAGE    346. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  94. 


ORAIBI  WOMAN  DRYING  CORN. 

PHOTOGRAPHED  BY  GEORGE  WHARTON  JAMES.     SEE  PAGE  346. 


•Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  95. 


AMAZONIAN  BASKETRY  AND  MATERIALS. 

SEE    PAGE    347. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  96. 


HUPA  HARVESTING  BASKETS. 

COLLECTED  BY  p.  H.  RAY.     SEE  PAGE  349. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  97. 


POMO  MILLING  BASKETS. 


COLLECTION  OF  c.  P.  WILCOMB.     SEE  PAGE  350. 


^ 

* 


Repoit  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Masor 


PLATE  98. 


TULARE  MEAL  AND  MORTAR  BASKETS. 

COLLECTION  OF  c.  p.  WILCOMB.     SEE  PAGE  351. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  99. 


I    i 

t    § 


I    I 


\    • 


Repoit  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  100. 


HAVASUPAI  WOMAN  SCREENING  CORN. 

PHOTOGRAPHED  BY  GEORGE  WHARTON  JAMES.     SEE  PAGE  351. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  101 


COAHUILLA  WOMAN  GRINDING  ACORNS. 

PHOTOGRAPHED  BY  GEORGE  WHARTON  JAMES.     SEE  PAGE  351. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Masor 


PLATE  102. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1  902.— Mason. 


PLATE  103. 


HOPI  BRIDAL  COSTUME  CASE. 

SEE    PAGE    352. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  104. 


ANCIENT  MORTUARY  BASKETS. 

AMERICAN   MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     SEE  PAGE  353. 


£,  UTAH 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  105. 


ANCIENT  PERUVIAN  LACE  WORK. 


AFTER  w.  H.  HOLMES.     SEE  PAGE  353. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902, — Mason. 


PLATE  106. 


RELATIONSHIP  BETWEEN  BASKETRY  AND  POTTERY. 

AFTER  F.  H.  GUSHING.     SEE  PAGE  354. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  107. 


BASKETRY  PRESERVED  BY  POTTERY. 

AFTER  w.  H.  HOLMES.     SEE  PAGE  354. 


REPORT  OF  U.S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM,  I902.-MASON. 


CO 


n 

5     CD 

Z      Q 


Report  of   U.   S.    National    Museum,    1902. — Masc 


PLATE  109. 


TLINKIT  TWINED  COVERED  BASKET. 

COLLECTED   BY  J.  J.   McLEAN. 

See  page   356. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  1 10. 


• 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1  902.— Masor 


PLATE  111. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  112. 


POMO  WEDDING  BASKETS. 

COLLECTION  OF  c.  P.  WILCOMB.     SEE  PAGE  ass 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902, — Mason. 


PLATE  1 13. 


O       z 

°-    p 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  114. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  115. 


TULARE  GAMBLING  TRAY  AND  DICE. 

SEE    PAGE    359. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mas 


PLATE  116. 


Report  of  U.  S.  Natonal  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  117. 


SOUTH 


PAIUTE  BASKET  BOTTLES. 

SEE    PAGE    361. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  1  18. 


NAVAHO  WATER  CARRIERS. 

PHOTOGRAPHED  BY  GEORGE  WHARTON  JAMES.     SEE  PAGE  361. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  1 19. 


ALQONKIN  INDIAN  BASKETRY. 

SEE  PAGE  374. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  120. 


ABENAKI  INDIAN  BASKETMAKER. 

PHOTOGRAPHED  BY  HERBERT  B.  ROWLAND.     SEE  PAGE  374. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  121. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  122. 


CHIPPEWA  BARK  MATTING. 

PHOTOGRAPHED  BY  D.  D.  GAILLARD.     SEE  PAGE  374. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1  902.— Mason. 


PLATE  123. 


ATHAPASCAN  SNOWSHOE  DETAIL. 

COLLECTED  BY  GEORGE  CATLIN.     SEE  PAGE  376. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  124. 


OJIBWA  COILED  BASKETS. 

PEABODV  MUSEUM,  MASSACHUSETTS.  SEE  PAGE  377. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  125. 


CENTRAL  ESKIMO  COILED  BASKET. 

COLLECTED  BY  c.  F.  HALL.     SEE  PAGE  377. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason, 


PLATE  126. 


CENTRAL  ESKIMO  COILED  BASKET. 

COLLECTED  BY  L.  M.  TURNER.     SEE  PAGE  378 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  127. 


COMANCHE  COILED  TRAY. 

SEE    PAGE    378. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  1 28. 


COILED  BASKET  OF  PINE  NEEDLES. 

SEE    PAGE    379. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  129. 


DOG  RIB  INDIAN  GAME  BAG. 

COLLECTED  BY  B.  R.  ROSS.     SEE  PAGE  379. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  130. 


POTSHERDS  SHOWING  TEXTILE  IMPRESSIONS. 

AFTER  w.  H.  HOLMES.     SEE  PAGE  384. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  131. 


OJIBWA  TWINED  WALLET. 


SEE    PAGE    385. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  132. 


CHETIMACHA  TWILLED  BASKETRY. 

SEE    PAGE    388. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  133. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  134. 


CHOCTAW  TWILLED  BASKETS. 


COLLECTION  OF  MRS.  CAROLYN  G.  BENJAMIN.     SEE  PAGE  ss 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  135. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  136. 


ALASKAN  ESKIMO  BASKETRY. 

COLLECTED  BY  E.  w.  NELSON.     SEE  PAGE  396. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  137. 


e^ttJSaS^.lmlmmiSrtS 


ALASKAN  ESKIMO  TWINED  WALLET. 

SEE    PAGE    396. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  138. 


CHUKCHI  TWINED  WALLET. 


AMERICAN  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      SEE  PAGE  397. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  139. 


KAMCHATKAN  TWINED  WALLET. 


AMERICAN  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     SEE  PAGE  397. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902.- Mason. 


PLATE  140. 


CHUKCHI  COILED  BASKETS. 

AMERICAN  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     SEE  PAGE  402. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  141 


ALASKAN  ESKIMO  COILED  BASKET. 

COLLECTION  OF  FRED  HARVEY.  SEE  PAGE  402. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  142. 


ALEUT  TWINED  BASKET. 

SEE  PAGE  405. 


Report  of  U,  S.  National  Museum,  1902 Mason. 


PLATE  143. 


ALEUT  TWINED  BASKET. 

COLLECTED  BY  L.  M.  TURNER.  SEE  PAGE  405. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  144. 


tr 

HI  CE 


^ 

CO  Q 

^  Q 

QQ  < 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1  902.— Mason. 


PLATE  145. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1  902.— Mason. 


PLATE  146. 


\  o . 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  147. 


CO 


I  t'.v/ 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  148. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1  902.— Mason. 


PLATE  149. 


TReport  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  150. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1  902.— Mason. 


PLATE  151. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  152. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  153. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  154. 


TYPES  OF  SALISH  BASKETRY. 

SEE    PAGE   421. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902.  — Mason. 


PLATE  155. 


TYPES  OF  SALISH  BASKETRY. 


SEE    PAGE    421. 


- 

~" ""**s/, 

?r..     y 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  156. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  157. 


Report  of   U.    S.    National    Museum,    1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  158. 


COWLITZ  AND  KLIKITAT  IMBRICATED  BASKETS. 

COLLECTED   BY  CHARLES  WILKES  AND   W.   H.  HOLMES. 
See  page  428. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  159. 


O     £ 

•_-       co 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  160. 


$  s 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  161 


KLIKITAT  IMBRICATED  BASKET. 

SEE    PAGE    430. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902.— Masor 


PLATE  162. 


CO  < 
I— 

LU  LJ 

_l  * 

I  1 

Q  * 

* 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  163. 


SALISH  BASKETRY. 

SEE    PAGE    435. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  164. 


CO 

I- 

LJ 

_l 
-J 
< 

£ 

Q      S 

uj      •* 

S^ 

I     n 
w 

O 
O 
CO 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  165. 


CLALLAM  TWINED  BASKETS. 

SEE    PAGE    436. 


ss- 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  166. 


TlLLAMUK   AND   CHINOOK   TWINED   WALLETS. 

SFE    PAGE    436. 


V 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902.— Maso 


PLATE  167. 


MODOC  AND  NEZ  PERCE  WOMEN'S  HATS. 

SEE    PAGE    438. 


. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  168. 


WASCO  TWINED  WALLETS. 

SEE  PAGE  439. 


Uo"& 

*Wi 

; 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  169. 


: 


>, 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— Masor 


PLATE  170. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  171. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  172. 


KLAMATH  AND  WINTUN  BASKETMAKERS. 

PHOTOGRAPHED  BY  JOHN   DAGGETT.     SEE  PAGE  449. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  173. 


POMO  BASKET  IN  TEE  WEAVE. 

SEE    PAGE    454. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  174. 


KLAMATH  THREE-STRAND  BASKETS. 


COLLECTION  OF  c.  HART  MERRIAM.     SEE  PAGE  462. 


REPORT  OF  U.S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM,  I902.-MASON. 


PLATE    175. 


PIT   RIVER  TWINED    BASKETS. 

COLLECTED    BY  L. STONE   AND   H.  F.  LISTON.  SEE   PAGE  4-62. 


REPORT  OF  U.S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM,  I902.-MASON. 


PLATE     176. 


SHASTA  TWINED    BASKETS. 

COLLECTED    BY  LIVI  NGSTON   STO  N  E.  SEE   PAGE   463. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  177. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason, 


PLATE  178. 


REPORT  OF  U.S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM,  I902.-MASON. 


PLATE    179. 


WASHOE   BASKET   BOWLS. 

COLLECTED    BY    E.MEAD    AND   J.W.HUDSON.    SEE    PAGE    466. 


.^tTY 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  180. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  181 


WASHOE  BASKETMAKER. 

PHOTOGRAPHED  BY  MRS.  A.  COHN.     SEE  PAGE  467. 


REPORT  OF  U.S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM,   I902.-MASON. 


PLATE    182. 


EASTERN    CALIFORNIAN    COILED   BASKETS. 

COLLECTED    BY  EUGENE  MEAD.  SEE   PAGE  467. 


/C!^-'-- 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  183. 


Report  of   U.    S.    National    Museum.    1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  184. 


PANAMINT  COILED  BOWLS. 

COLLECTED   BY  J.  W.   HUDSON,  AND   EUGENE   MEAD 
See  page  473 . 


Or      ' 

V.V 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  185. 


TULARE  COILED  BASKETS. 

SEE    PAGE    474. 


Report  cf  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  186. 


TULARE  COILED  BASKET. 

COLLECTION  OF  c.  p.  WILCOMB.     SEE  PAGE  475. 


Report  of  U.   S.    National    Museum,    1902.— Masor 


PLATE  187. 


TULARE  COILED  JARS. 

COLLECTED   BY  STEPHEN   POWERS,  AND   GAVIN  AND   LEONARD 
See  page  475. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  188. 


KERN  AND  TULARE  COILED  BASKETS. 

COLLECTION  OF  E.  L.  MCLEOD.  SEE  PAGE  476. 


or 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  189. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  190. 


TEJON  COILED  BASKETS. 

COLLECTION  OF  E.  L.  MCLEOD.     SEE  PAGE  477. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  191 


KERN  AND  TULARE  COILED  BASKETS. 

COLLECTION  OF  E.  L.  MCLEOD.     SEE  PAGE  478. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  192. 


CALIENTE  CREEK  INDIAN  BASKETS. 

COLLECTION  OF  E.  L.  MCLEOD.  SEE  PAGE  478. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  193. 


KERN  COILED  BASKET. 

COLLECTION  OF  E.  L.  MCLEOD.      SEE  PAGE  479. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902.^Mason. 


PLATE  194. 


KERN  COILED  BASKET. 

COLLECTION  OF  E.  L.  MCLEOD.     SEE  PAGE  479. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  195. 


KERN  COILED  BASKET. 


COLLECTION  OF  E.  L.  MCLEOD.     SEE  PAGE  479. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason 


PLATE  196. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  197. 


MISSION  INDIAN  BASKETMAKER. 

PHOTOGRAPHED  BY  GEORGE  WHARTON  JAMES.     SEE  PAGE  435. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  198. 


1   i 


REPORT  OF  U.S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM,  I902.-MASON. 


PLATE     199. 


MISSION    INDIAN    BASKET    BOWL. 
COLLECTION    OF   GEORGE    WHARTON    JAMES.  SEE    PAGE    4-86. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  200. 


HAVASUPAI  BASKETMAKER. 


PHOTOGRAPHED  BV  GEORGE  WHARTON  JAMES.     SEE  PAGE  486. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  201 


ANCIENT  CAVE  BASKETS. 

COLLECTED  BY  STEPHEN  BOWERS.     SEE  PAGE 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1  902.— Mason. 


PLATE  202. 


ANCIENT  CAVE  BASKETS. 

COLLECTED  BY  STEPHEN  BOWERS.     SEE  PAGE  437. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  203. 


MISSION  INDIAN  TWINED  BAG. 

COLLECTED  BY  MISS  CONSTANCE  G.  DUBOIS.     SEE  PAGE  487. 


J 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  204. 


£> 

-^ 

c 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  205. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  206. 


<  I 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  207. 


ANCIENT  BASKET  MAKERS'  COILED  TRAY. 

AMERICAN   MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     SEE  PAGE  49: 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  208. 


ANCIENT  BASKET  MAKERS'  COILED  TRAY. 

AMERICAN   MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     SEE  PAGE  493. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  209. 


ANCIENT  BASKET  MAKERS'  COILED  BOWLS. 

AMERICAN  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     SEE  PAGE  498 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  210. 


OTA//  ANCIENT  BASKET  MAKERS'  FOOD  RECEPTACLES. 


AMERICAN  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     SEE  PAGE  4s 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  211 


ANCIENT  BASKET  MAKERS'  HOPPER. 


AMERICAN  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     SEE  PAGE  498. 


Report   of   U.    S.    National    Museum,    1902.—  Me 


PLATE  212. 


SIA  ANCIENT  COILED  BASKETS. 

COLLECTED   BY  JAMES  STEVENSON. 

See  page  499. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  213. 


ANCIENT  ZUNI  BASKETRY. 

COLLECTED  BY  JAMES  STEVENSON.  SEE  PAGE  500. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  214. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1  902.— Mason. 


PLATE  215. 


HOPI  BASKETMAKER. 

PHOTOGRAPHED  BY  GEORGE  WHARTON  JAMES.     SEE  PAGE  504. 


REPORT  OF  U.S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM,  1902.  MASON. 


PLATE     216. 


HOP!    COILED    PLAQUES. 

COLLECTED    BY   JAMES    MOONEY.    SEE    PAGE    5O4-. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  217. 


ORAIBI  BASKETWEAVER. 

PHOTOGRAPHED  BY  GEORGE  WHARTON  JAMES.     SEE  PAGE  505. 


aport  of  U.  S    National  Museum,  1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  218. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  219. 


ANCIENT  WICKER  BASKET. 

COLLECTED  BY  j.  WALTER  FEWKES.     SEE  PAGE  soa. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  220. 


ANCIENT  TWILLED  AND  COILED  WARE. 

COLLECTED  BY  j.  WALTER  FEWKES.     SEE  PAGE  509. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— Masor 


PLATE  221 


ANCIENT  PUEBLO  BASKETRY. 

COLLECTED  BY  WALTER  HOUGH.     SEE  PAGE  509. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  222. 


ANCIENT  PUEBLO  BASKETRY. 

COLLECTED  BY  WALTER  HOUGH.  SEE  PAGE  509. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  223. 


ANCIENT  PUEBLO  BASKETRY. 

COLLECTED  BY  WALTER  HOUGH.  SEE  PAGE 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  224. 


APACHE  COILED  BOWLS. 


COLLECTION  OF  j.  w.  BENHAM.     REE  PAGE  sr 


Report  of   U.    S.    National    Museum,    1902.— Mas 


PLATE  225. 


APACHE  COILED  BOWLS. 

COLLECTED   BY  WALTER   HOUGH. 

See  page  51!. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  226. 


APACHE  COILED  BOWLS. 

SEE  PAGE  511. 


Report   of   U.    S.    Natio.-.a!    Museum,     1902.  —  Mason. 


PLATE  227. 


....  xx         -         ..x       .-r        :r 


MESCALERO  COILED  BASKETS. 

COLLECTED   BY  WALTER   HOUGH. 
See  page  5 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  228. 


NAVAHO  COILED  BOWLS. 


PHOTOGRAPH  FROM  MRS.  i.  H.  KIRKPATRICK. 


SEE    PAGE    515. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museunr,  1902. — Mason, 


PLATE  229. 


HAVASUPAI  COILED  BASKETRY. 

COLLECTED  BY  A.  HRDLICKA.     SEE  PAGE  517. 


Report   of    U,    5     National    Museum,    1902. —  Mi 


PLATE  ?30. 


*."£"C-" 


HAVASUPAI  COILED  BOWLS. 

COLLECTED   BY  WALTER   HOUGH. 
See  page  5  I  7. 


\ 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  231. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  232. 


O      3 
O     2 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  233. 


PIMA  COILED  BOWL. 

COLLECTION  OF  c.  E.  RUMSEY.     SEE  PAGE  523. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  234. 


PIMA  COILED  BASKETS. 

COLLECTED  BY  FRANK  RUSSELL.  SEE  PAGE 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  235. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  236. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— Mason.  PLATE  237. 


YAQUI  COVERED  BASKETS. 


COLLECTED  BY  A.  HRDLICKA      SEE  PAGE  526. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  238. 


VENEZUELAN  BASKETMAKER. 

PHOTOGRAPHED  BY  R.  BARTLEMAN.     SEE  PAGE  528. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  239. 


ARAWAK  INDIAN  BASKETRY. 

COLLECTED  BY  p.  FIGYELMESY.     SEE  PAGE  529. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.- Mason. 


PLATE  240. 


BRAZILIAN  CARRYING  BASKETS. 

PHOTOGRAPHED  BY  CARL  VON  DEN  STEINEN.     SEE  PAGE  529. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museurr,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  241. 


BRAZILIAN  CARRYING  BASKETS. 

PHOTOGRAPHED  BY  CARL  VON  DEN  STEINEN.     SEE  PAGE  530. 


•*  '.' 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  242. 


ECUADOR  TWILLED  WEAVING. 

COLLECTED  BY  s.  o.  RICHEY.     SEE  PAGE  532. 


-  «  • 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,   1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  243. 


x 


ANCIENT  PERUVIAN  WORKBASKET. 

SEE    PAGE    536. 


. 

ry    j 
/ 


REPORT  OF  U.S.  NATIONAL   MUSEUM,   I902.-MASON. 


PLATE     244. 


- 


4*H 

rrflrl      •L^^^-,'-^'  -'''.r\^aygi   ..i 


-^  M;V 


OC   d 
U.    oo 


h- 

Z    DQ 
LU    5 

O    3 

Z    O 

<  ° 

z  3 

<    UJ 

>  u- 

D 

or 

UJ 

0. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. —  Mason. 


PLATE  245. 


ANCIENT  CHILEAN  COILED  BASKETRY. 

SEE    PAGE    538. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902. — Mason. 


PLATE  246. 


ANCIENT  CHILEAN  COILED  BASKETRY. 

SEE    PAGE    538. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— Mason. 


PLATE  247. 


ANCIENT  CHILEAN  COILED  BASKETRY. 

SEE    PAGE    538. 


Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1902.— Mason.  PLATE  248. 


PERUVIAN  MODERN  COILED  BASKETRY. 

SEE    PAGE    538. 


HOME  USE 

CIRCULATION  DEPARTMENT 
MAIN  LIBRARY 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 
1  -month  loans  may  be  renewed  by  calling  642-3405. 
6-month  loans  may  be  recharged  by  bringing  books 

to  Circulation  Desk. 
Renewals  and  recharges  may  be  made  4  days  prior 

to  due  date. 

ALL  BOOKS  ARE  SUBJECT  TO  RECALL  7  DAYS 
AFTER  DATE  CHECKED  OUT. 


INTERLJBRARY  LOAN 


UNIV.  OF  CAUF.,  BERK. 


\Hfc«U»WWn  M1 

\\NW-, 

QJC^V-^^' 

Kecen 

/flfl  IP  ! 

m 

MiV  0  Q  1Qfld 

IAM  n/i  IQftft. 

v.'     T,      :     •        •-      '  v-  ' 
LD21  —  A-40m-5,'74 
(R8191L) 

General  Library 
University  of  California 
Berkeley 

YC  27825 


U  C.  BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


R31359 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


